She graduated from St. Joseph Central Catholic High School and earned her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D degrees from the University of Dayton.
Scalzo served in both public and non-public school systems for 41 years, as a teacher, principal, curriculum director and superintendent. Twenty-one of those years were at Oakwood City Schools, where she retired as superintendent in 2013.
Scalzo told the Dayton Daily News in an October 2012 interview that it had been a privilege to serve in her home community for more than half of her 41 years in education, and she hoped then to transition to another role in education.
“Even though I am retiring from Oakwood and as a district-level K-12 practitioner, I am looking forward to contributing to this exciting and transformative period in education in other ways,” she said in 2012.
Then-Oakwood Board of Education President Sam Davis said at the time that Scalzo had worked “tirelessly and unselfishly” for local students and their families.
“Her leadership and dedication have inspired us to be better stewards of Oakwood’s educational legacy,” Davis said at the time.
“Mary Jo finished off her impressive career as the executive director at High Aims, a consortium of 30+ public school districts in southwest Ohio from 2013-2018,” her obituary says.
She was a member of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Springboro. She also belonged to the Association of Supervision and Curriculum, Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Oakwood Rotary Club and served on the University of Dayton board of trustees.
Scalzo is survived by her husband of 41 years, Rick; sisters, Kathy Mulshine (nee Hannel) and Judy Josselyn (nee Hannel); six nieces and nephews and nine great nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian burial is set for 10 a.m. Jan. 8 at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, 9579 Yankee Road, Springboro.
Inturnment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date, her obituary says.
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