Gary Mala Reaches Out to the Avon Community As the New Superintendent of Schools

How do you call a snow day? Can you assign us homework? Why did you choose to become a superintendent? What are you going to change?

Those are all questions the new Avon Superintendent of Schools Gary Mala fielded on his first day of work Thursday when he visited the five public schools in town – Avon High School, Avon Middle School, Thompson Brook School, Roaring Brook School and Pine Grove Elementary School.

"I correlate my work directly back to kids.... It's important to talk about who you are," Mala said. "I asked the kids how many of them are new to their school and class. You know that feeling you have when you're new and you don't know what to say or do?"

But as a "new student" in Avon, Mala has kept himself busy in his first week, and is reaching out to not only the students, teachers and school administrators, but also to town officials involved in the police and fire departments, the senior center, the Town Council, the town manager's and town clerk's offices, and other key parts of the community.

"I want to extend myself to them," Mala said. "I'm excited to meet all of the people here. People were very hospitable [this week] and went out of their way to greet me."

In his welcome letter on March 2, Mala thanked Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler, who has returned to the role after filling in as interim superintendent after David Erwin left for Berlin in the spring of 2010, and Paula Schwartz, who was serving as interim assistant superintendent and is now going back into retirement and continuing consulting work with the school district.

"I must recognize and thank Jody Goeler and Paula Schwartz for their tireless efforts over the past months with advancing the work of our schools," Mala wrote. "Their leadership has created a new, strong foundation for our school district."

Mala hopes to meet every department supervisor and teacher, and ultimately his priority comes back to the students.

"I want them to understand that the people responsible for shaping organization [in the school district] are just like them, not people you don't see," Mala said. "The work happens in the classroom with kids. It is a focus to demonstrate that this administration is in support of good work."

Mala was previously the superintendent for Region 17, which includes Haddam and Killingworth, and is originally from Naugatuck, where he went to school and was principal of Naugatuck High School in the late 1990's.