By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — A former Olympian who has spent 25 years in public education will be the school district’s next assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

Anna Mahon, currently assistant superintendent of schools for the Brookfield public schools, was approved Thursday by a 5-0 vote of the Board of Education. She will assume the new post on July 1, with an annual salary of $240,000.

Mahon will succeed Assistant Supt. Anthony Buono, who is retiring.

She is also the second top Brookfield school official this month to announce plans to leave that district at the end of this school year. 

Earlier this month, John Barile, Brookfield’s superintendent, announced he will leave his position this summer to become dean of education at Central Connecticut State University.

Abilities, experience stood out

Mahon was one of almost 70 candidates who applied for the Westport job, the school board was told. The initial pool was narrowed to six, then three, before a selection was made.

Board Chair Lee Goldstein called the hiring process rigorous, which included multiple rounds of interviews with staff, parents, board members and district administrators.

Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice called it an incredible pool of candidates that included sitting school superintendents from the region as well as other school administrators from around the state. There was also at least one internal candidate among the finalists.

“In both rounds, one candidate stood out,” Scarice said. “It is rare to find a candidate with the depth and range of leadership experience and expertise that Anna brings … Anna brings an extraordinary moral compass to her work. This was noted throughout the search process and across the reference checks.”

Scarice told the board she is a master of the material and a great communicator who could get to the point and be clear.

Stamford native, longtime Amity educator

Mahon, 50, said in a brief interview after the vote it was good to be returning to this part of the state. She has spent the past three years in Brookfield. Before that, she spent more than two decades with the Amity Regional School District in Woodbridge as an English teacher, administrator and the Amity Regional High School principal.

She was born in Stamford and started her career teaching high school English in Darien and Stamford.

Mahon called it an awesome opportunity to come to Westport and to focus on teaching and learning. 

In Brookfield, a district with 2,542 students — half of Westport’s enrollment — her role as assistant superintendent put her in charge of curriculum, instruction and human resources.

“I hope I can bring a collaborative vision,” Mahon said. “I have a passion for teaching and learning and public education in general. I believe strongly in holding students in the center of every decision that we make. And I believe that is a reciprocal value here in Westport.”

Mahon told the board it is clear how valuable Westport’s school district is to the entire community.

In addition to her school and district-level experience, Mahon recently completed a term as a commission member with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is chairing a site visit for the organization. She has served on the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Advisory Board and the executive board for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Board of Control. She is an adjunct professor in the doctoral program in Educational Leadership at the University of Bridgeport.

Mahon holds a bachelor degree in English and psychology from the University of Vermont, a master’s degree from Boston University, a sixth-year degree from Southern Connecticut State University and a doctor of education in Educational Leadership and International Educational Studies from the University of Bridgeport.

Olympics competitor

Mahon is also a former Olympic athlete. A top American hammer thrower in 2002, Mahon was a member of the U.S. track and field team in the women’s 4-kilogram hammer throw at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She would go on to place 29th in the summer games with a throw of just over 213 feet.

From 2004-12, she was an assistant coach for the Yale University men’s and women’s track and field teams.

Right person for the job

During the vetting process, current colleagues of Mahon spoke highly of her leadership skills, the school board was told. 

One noted: “Anna consistently demonstrates sound judgment, strategic thinking and an unwavering commitment to student success — she is the singular best candidate you could have.”

Goldstein said she was part of the second interview with the finalists. “What really shined for me was that every single answer was very student focused,” she said.

Board member Robert Harrington said he was delighted by the hour-long executive session the board had with Mahon. “It was a pleasure to hear her … embrace what is great about this school district. She comes in with a collaborative mind set to race the bar higher,” he said.

Board Secretary Neil Phillips said the district is fortunate to have Mahon.

Lori Freeman, speaking on behalf of the Council of PTA Presidents, called Mahon the right person for the job.

“I am excited about skills and leadership you are bringing to the district,” she told Mahon when the public was invited to speak at the meeting.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.