By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT — The Board of Education welcomed its newest member last week, Abby Gordon-Tolan, the mother of two and a former special education teacher.
“I am humbled to be at the table. Excited to get to work,” said Gordon-Tolan after the 6-0 vote confirming her appointment Thursday. “There are a lot of important things coming up and I expect to be part of it.”
Gordon-Tolan, 54, was nominated by the Democratic Town Committee to fill the seat of Christina Torres, who resigned effective Jan. 1 to focus on her new job as superintendent of the Mount Pleasant Cottage School District in Westchester County, N.Y.
Gordon-Tolan will fill the remaining two years of Torres’ term, which expires at the end of 2025.
“There is no backing out now,” board Chair Lee Goldstein told Gordon-Tolan. The board had previously interviewed Gordon-Tolan in an executive session.
Goldstein said she is thrilled Gordon-Tolan wants to join the board.
The new member is the mother of twin boys who are juniors at Staples High School. She is a former PTA president at Kings Highway Elementary School and, until her appointment to the board, was co-chair of the district’s Special Education PTA.
She also served as a diversity, equity and inclusion representative at Coleytown Middle School and is a founding member of Club SpED, a group formed to help connect families who have a child with disabilities.
Before moving to Westport, Gordon-Tolan was a special education teacher in New York City.
She said she has been in the audience of previous board meetings and is familiar with issues facing the panel.
“I’m nervous, but I am looking forward to it,” Gordon-Tolan said.
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.
Yay Abby! Congratulations! What an amazing pick! Westport is lucky to have her expertise in education on the board!
Amazingly predictable
Sharon, What part is predictable , that the seat vacated by a Democrat was filled by a Democrat (as is the process)? Or that the Democrats were able to bring on another highly qualified, motivated and selfless representative? How fantastic that someone who has selflessly dedicated so much of her time to serving the school community has signed on to do even more.
Sharon’s negativity once again. Abby has years upon years of experience in teaching in Special Education. What is your problem with her?
Welcome Abby. Thank you for stepping up to fill this position. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights.
Abby is a great edition to this board – and as a member of a different part I am proud to sit next to her. She brings a wealth of experience and will put kids first every time. Welcome Abby.