Four finalists for the 2024 National Superintendent of the Year award will learn in late afternoon on Feb. 15 who among them will receive this year’s crown. The announcement will be made at the 1st General Session of the AASA National Conference on Education at the San Diego Convention Center in California.
The foursome includes veteran public school system leaders from Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Texas.
The four finalists are:
- Joe Gothard, superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minn., since 2017. He earlier served for four years as superintendent in Burnsville, Minn.
- Martha Salazar-Zamora, superintendent of Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, since 2017.
- Kimberly Rizzo Saunders, superintendent of Contoocook Valley School District in Peterborough, N.H., since 2016.
- Frederick Williams, superintendent of Dublin City Schools in Dublin, Ga., since 2015.
The 2023 National Superintendent of the Year, Kevin McGowan, leads a suburban school district outside Rochester, N.Y.
The annual recognition program is co-sponsored by AASA, Corebridge Financial (formerly known as AIG Life & Retirement) and First Student. The program honors school system leaders throughout the country who are making a positive difference in the lives of the students they serve in addition to ensuring the safety and wellness of their school communities.
The National Superintendent of the Year program, now in its 37th year, is open to all U.S. superintendents who plan to continue in the profession. The program also honors international school superintendents. The nominees, selected by a blue ribbon panel in mid-December, were measured against the following criteria:
- Leadership for learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system;
- Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication;
- Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team; and
- Community involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.
A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2024 National Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated or the school now serving the same area.
Access here a list of the 2024 state superintendents of the year from each state and overseas, all of whom were candidates for the national honor.