From an outsider’s perspective, perseverance and hard work would account for Associate Superintendent Anne Mallory’s steady climb from a top ten Brawley Union High student to Imperial Valley College Student Assembly member to Imperial County Teacher of the Year to her second in command post at the Imperial County Office of Education.
But Mallory’s greatest asset stems from never forgetting that Imperial Valley reflects who she is as well as where she came from, and her mission is to offer all local children the same educational advantages with which she was blessed.
A Valley native from start to finish, Mallory could be the poster child for the farm area girl who has done well and made her family proud.
“I’m a hometown girl,” she acknowledged, smiling.
Born and raised in tiny, close- knit Westmorland, Mallory was the eldest of four children belonging to Roy and Mary Johnson.
A self- described daddy’s girl, Mallory portrays her father as civic-minded and encouraging, the best father anyone could have.
“He set the example of giving back to the community,” she said.
A love for education comes naturally to Mallory. Her mother moved here from Mississippi and accepted a job as a primary teacher when Mallory’s grandfather became ill and needed the dry desert climate for breathing problems.
A tiny, classy southern belle, Mary Bowie was taken aback by the heat and barrenness of the area.
“It was the Wild West to her!” Mallory laughed.
Despite the rustic nature of the Valley, her mother never lost touch with southern etiquette, style or her lady-like ways. She insisted the family eat Sunday dinner using china dishes, organized book clubs and large community Thanksgiving dinners, and in the true manner of a belle, was reluctant to divulge her real age.
“I was home- schooled in the southern belle finishing program,” Mallory confided, laughing again.
The legacy of her mother lives on in Mallory with a gracious and considerate personality that makes her an ideal admin-istrator who builds a loyal, cooperative staff and successful programs.
Typical of her modest attitude, Mallory will not accept credit for her successes, insisting instead, that she surrounds herself with people smarter than she, and they make her look good.
“I’m not one who seeks the limelight,” she said. “If there’s a need, I can serve.”
However, the truth is that her list of accomplishments and awards reach all the way back to high school and her college years and include serving as a representative to the Associated Student Body at Imperial Valley College and president of the Sigma Society in the mid- seventies.
Receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1977, she also stretched socially by serving as chapter president of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and was chosen for the Outstanding Senior Award upon her graduation.
Her first job was an internship in first grade awarded at Capistrano Unified School District while working on her multiple subject teacher credentials which she received in 1978.
Her subsequent teaching experience included stints at Westmorland elementary school, four years in a bilingual fifth grade class in Brawley, and then back to Westmorland for junior high language arts classes.
She married her first husband at 24, and they had a son, Rob, five years later.
“I don’t think anything could have prepared me for being a mother,” she admitted. Suddenly, her students took on a completely different meaning for her.
“ It changed my outlook and really impacted me,” she said. “Every one of them has parents at home who love them as much as I love my baby,” she thought to herself as she faced her classroom on return from maternity leave.
Sadly, Mallory’s mother passed away in 1984 during the Thanksgiving season, one of her favorite times of year, but the educator tries to keep her memory alive by cooking huge meals and entertaining her extended family.
Divorced in 1985, Mallory became a single parent and juggled child care, commuting to work and motherhood. During this time, she and her sister, Nancy, bonded even more as they depended on each other for both morale and hands- on help.
In 1987, she married Vance Mallory, a Brawley native who became her biggest supporter and encourager. Their son, Evan, was born in 1988.
She was honored as Imperial County Teacher of the Year in 1989, and then made the decision to move out of the classroom and into the administrative role as vice- principal and categorical projects coordinator at Westmorland in late 1989.
Truthful, she confided that she was not actively pursuing an administrative position and worried about losing her personal contact with the students.
“I would have been perfectly happy to stay in the classroom,” she admitted, but she finally relented to pressure and advice from fellow educators and decided to change her goals to include the administrative track. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” she confided to her father, and he came back with some great advice.
He told her to concentrate on fostering the same close atmosphere and personal relationships inherent in her classrooms and broadening it to affect the whole school. It worked.
Drawing on her huge support system, Mallory determined to become a principal who was approachable and willing to listen. Her hometown status was a benefit since she was familiar with many families because she had gone to school with them, taught an older brother or sister, or knew them through Westmorland family contacts.
Mirroring her father’s community involvement, she is a lifetime member of Westmorland Community Presbyterian Church and has served as a trustee, choir member, Sunday school teacher and superintendent.
She has also taught in the local 4H Club and is a member of PEO, a service organization.
Traveling with her sister, the two enrolled in a master’s program at Point Loma Nazarene University where they drove up for classes several times a week.
“She is my rock,” she said of Nancy.
In 1993, she earned her MA in educational administration and was promoted to the Westmorland superintendent job in 1994 where she remained six years. Her accomplishments in the small school district included an appointment to the Governor’s Reading Award program advisory committee, and serving as guest lecturer for several prestigious educational conferences.
Many locals also credit her with single-handedly raising the bar for the Westmorland school district which is sometimes overlooked because of its kindergarten through eighth grade designation.
After being mentored by county Superintendent John Anderson on several school issues, Mallory decided to apply for an opening at the county office of education in October 2001.
No one was more surprised than her when she was hired as assistant superintendent, she said.
“I was kind of shocked they offered it to me,” she said. “It made me feel very humble.”
Since then, the county has evolved, opening three assistant superintendent posts, and elevating Mallory to second in command as associate superintendent with a full time workforce of nearly 600 employees.
The purpose of the County Office of Education is the administration of several state and county based educational programs as well as supporting and advising the individual school districts.
Her job description includes filling in for Anderson when he travels, as well as managing and supervising several multi-million dollar departments encompassing alternative, special and migrant education programs, and early childhood education.
Her dedication to the education and welfare of Imperial County students has grown along with her promotions, thus increasing her boundaries and influence over the entire Valley.
Quite literally, she attempts to manage her job in the county education system with the same personal touch she used in her classrooms so long ago.
“ You need to focus and do what you can to make a difference for every child,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can.”
This fierce determination to hold herself personally responsible for educating the Valley’s children surprises onlookers as well as the students themselves.
Mallory often can be spotted roaming county campuses and making personal contacts with students.
“I enjoy connecting with the kids,” she said. “I try to give them some feedback, and I like to ask a lot of questions.”
These one- on- one relationships give her a tangible goal as she strives to help others change their lives and earn a workable education — something this small town girl knows a lot about.