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Always a Teacher at Heart

What will Branford High School (BHS) be like without its petite, positive powerhouse, Assistant Principal Anna Puglia? It’s a question Anna has been answering for her friends and fans quite a few times in the past weeks, in the run up to her retirement this summer.

Anna joined Branford Public Schools (BPS) 28 years ago and has been serving as a BHS assistant principal for 22 years. Anna was inducted into the Branford Education Hall of Fame in 2012.

A fan of research and detail, Anna has overseen BHS in-school testing programs, from CAPT to SBAC, as part of her duties. Her enthusiasm for encouraging students during those trying tests has included taking on the persona of “CAPTain Courageous” in past years, because finding the positive in every experience is very much her philosophy.

“I guess I’m a bit of a Pollyanna,” she says, laughing. “I wanted to be Gidget at the UN!”

Anna has also served as a conduit between BHS and the community, fostering the annual BHS senior scholarship program, which connects community scholarship opportunities with graduating seniors. Scholarships are awarded during a ceremony held at BHS a few days before graduation.

This year, BHS Music Makers sang to Anna on Scholarship Night, lauding her with, “You’ll Be in My Heart,” (from the Disney’s The Lion King) as a way to say goodbye and thank you. The Music Makers also sang to Anna at the junior/senior prom (“Sweet Puglia” to the tune of “Sweet Caroline”) and additionally sang “Irish Blessing” to her at another event.

“It’s very sweet of Cathyann Roding and her students to go to that extent to give me that kind of recognition,” says Anna. “They actually surrounded me when they sang ‘Irish Blessing.’ It’s been very touching.”

Touching the lives of others has been a privilege for Anna, especially in her work with scholarship donors, including some families who choose to remember a student who has passed away by giving a scholarship in their memory to a BHS student.

“It’s always very meaningful when we have a scholarship given in memory of those who’ve passed away. I think it says a lot about Branford; that their families want to make a point of giving back in that way,” says Anna.

Reaching out to the community as a representative of BHS has been a very rewarding part of her job, Anna adds.

“One of the best parts of my job has always been making connections to the community,” says Anna. “Scholarship night is always symbolic of how the community supports the school and the school supports the community. We gave out over $100,000 in scholarships [on June 7] and the genuineness of the students thanking the sponsors and the sponsors making a point to be there to shake that student’s hand—that’s what Branford is about.”

Ann started as a teacher with the BHS Horizons program in 1999.

“And of course [Branford] has evolved and today we still have great kids and families even as we’ve changed,” she says. “But you still have the great economic diversity in Branford and a great diversity of culture. I call it from the ‘Shores of Short Beach to the Hills of Brushy Plains.’”

When Anna arrived at BHS, the school building was undergoing major expansion construction work to create the facility it is today.

“They were just starting at that point,” she says. “It was interesting to see the changes being made and how there are still some remnants of the school that was here.”

A lover of research, Anna has edited two education-based books and been acknowledged in two books for her educational insights—one on the difference between regular education and charter schools (written by ex-Xerox president David H. Kearns), the other authored by Kelly Brownell (Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry which includes Anna’s input on re-configuring nutrition paradigms in schools).

Anna’s work to help improve learning at BHS has included incorporating “brain-based learning” into the faculty’s professional development, to help teachers meet students on the level of their “interests, skill, and need,” she explains.

“I did a lot of research on that, met with people from Yale, did my own independent research, went to conferences,” says Anna, who then crafted workshops for faculty. “So that was really a love I had and I still love. I really feel the basis of how you reach kids is through differentiated instruction.”

Anna taught in Horizons under former BHS Principal Dr. Edward Higgins and has been proud to become part of the administration team led by Principal Lee Panagoulias that followed in Higgins’s retirement.

She points to many positive developments the current administrative team brought to BHS, such as the annual Parade of Nations, which “really celebrates diversity,” says Anna. To show her support through the years, she’s done her best attend as many school events as possible, from musicals to sports contests and more.

Now that she’s retiring, Anna jokes, “I don’t know what I’ll do with all my red wardrobe!”

She also remembers attending many past events together with her former colleague, the late Jim MacVeigh (for whom the BHS Athletic Complex is named), who was an avid supporter of the BHS Hornets and all BHS school programs.

“Jim was hands above me. He was my exemplar,” says Anna.

Anna’s varied professional experience prior to becoming an educator included her work as a town comptroller and her work in the same capacity for a telecommunications company. She’s very glad she found education as a second career.

“I believe that change is good for the soul, and all the experiences make you the person you are,” says Anna.

Anna says she’s proud of her work to help streamline and grow the school scholarship program. In all of her duties, she’s enjoyed the detail involved, from being school testing coordinator to working with an advisory program for developmental guidance, as well a lot of other job responsibilities “people would probably find boring,” says Anna, laughing.

Anna was celebrated during a retirement dinner a few weeks back during which she advised her peers “not to take yourself too seriously,” she says. “I was CAPTain Courageous for a reason! It’s okay to laugh at yourself and still get the job done.”

Anna has always cared about kids, done her homework and always tried to build in supports to assist students.

“If you think about it, most of the students are here during a growth time, a change time. You get to see them grow into the person they want to be. That’s who they are, and whatever support we can give them along the way as a school system, we do.”

During the June 10 BHS Class of 2016 commencement exercises on the Branford Green, Anna received an Honorary Diploma. Anna says she’s looking forward to sharing her skill set through possible consultant work in educational circles in the future, and also is happy she’ll be spending more time with her family, including her three children, husband Michael, and seven grandchildren.

“Overall, it’s been a great ride,” says Anna. I love Branford and I love education. I’m always a teacher at heart.”