Westport School Principal Aho announces retirement

WESTPORT — Westport Jr./Sr. High School Principal Mitchel Aho has announced his retirement at the end of the school year.

“We are extremely thankful for Principal Aho’s contributions to the Westport community over the past two years,” said Superintendent Gary Reese. “Principal Aho has been an integral part of our community and it saddens us to see him leave. We wish him all the best and hope he enjoys his retirement.”

Principal Mitchel Aho began his 30 year career as an educator at the Londonderry Independent School District in New Hampshire in 1990 where he was a social studies teacher.

From there, he worked in several school districts throughout the state of Massachusetts, holding a variety of positions at: West Boylston Public Schools, Gardner Middle School, Gardner High School and Athol Royalston Regional School District.

His time in the Westport Community School district began in August 2018 as the Westport Jr./Sr. High School principal.

In light of Principal Aho’s retirement, Westport Jr./Sr. High School is beginning the search for a new principal.
Anyone interested in applying for this position may review the job description and job application online. The job posting closes on March 20, 2020.

Interviews for the position will tentatively be held from 3 to 6 p.m. from March 23 through March 27 and/or March 30 through April 3.

The superintendent’s office is establishing a screening committee that will participate in the initial round of interviews with the candidates. Interested parties should email their name, role in the community and any other pertinent information that may qualify them for the screening committee to Karen Augusto at kaugusto@westportschools.org.

Additionally, Westport Community Schools is hoping to gain input from the community to help identify important characteristics that are expected of the next WJSHS principal. The input received from community members will help guide the types of questions that are asked during the interview.

To provide input, community members are encouraged to complete an online survey. Interested parties should complete the survey by Thursday, March 19 at 3 p.m.

The new WJSHS principal is expected to be named by the end of April.