Mansfield Public Schools Hire Superintendent

MANSFIELD, CT — The Mansfield Public Schools Board of Education announced that it has voted to hire Peter Dart as the next Mansfield Public Schools superintendent. Dart, who has served as Principal of Dorothy C. Goodwin Elementary School in Mansfield since 2018, will succeed Kelly Lyman effective July 1, 2022 upon her retirement.

“Peter has been a strong contributor to the administrative team here in Mansfield, offering deep experience in and contributing to growing our educators, one of our Core Beliefs,” Kathleen Ward, chair of the Board of Education who led the committee, said in a statement. “Under his leadership, Goodwin earned School of Distinction status in 2020 for high growth and overall performance in ELA/Reading, and in 2021 U.S. News & World Report ranked Goodwin School twelfth out of 621 Connecticut elementary schools. Our school community clearly responds to his leadership.”

Dart previously served as assistant superintendent for Talent Management at Hartford Public Schools where he worked with district and school leaders to support 52 schools in developing talent, leadership, professional learning, and equity. He was promoted to this role after serving for four years as the principal of the Environmental Sciences Magnet School at Mary Hooker serving 600 prekindergarten to grade 8 students from 45 towns.

Under his leadership, the environmental magnet school was awarded LEED Platinum Certification and the U.S. Department of Ed Green Ribbon, and earned recognition as a Magnet School of American School of Excellence, according to a statement.

He was also principal at the Eleanor B. Kennelly School in Hartford, a prekindergarten through grade 8 turnaround school where he initiated systemic reforms including early intervention for literacy and numeracy and implemented a School Governance Council to engage parents and families in change.

Mansfield Public Schools is a prekindergarten to grade 8 district facing a transition this year. The three elementary schools will be consolidated into one prekindergarten to grade 4 school in the fall upon completion of the new Mansfield Elementary School, the first net-zero public school in Connecticut, according to a statement.

“I’m honored to step into this role to best serve our students, families, and staff. Mansfield is an amazing community and I am proud to be a part of this story as we continue to develop and highlight experiences that lifts equity and best practices,” Dart said in a statement. “This is a district strong in tradition with deep commitments for education and innovation."