Dr. Kevin McGowan (middle-left in pinstripe suit), superintendent for Brighton Central School District in New York, receives
congratulations after his name is called as the winner of the Superintendent of the Year award on Feb. 16, 2023. About to shake McGowan’s hand is Trent North of Douglas County School System in Georgia. Directly to the right of McGowan is Matthew Hillmann of Northfield Public Schools ISD 659 in Minnesota, and at the far right is PJ Caposey of Meridian Community Unit School District #233 in Illinois.
“I
am convinced that many people do really incredible work,” Dr. Kevin McGowan, super- intendent for Brighton Central School District in New York, told School Transportation News
as he reflected on his name being called as the Super- intendent of the Year at the National Conference on Education on Feb. 16. “And the other finalists are pro- foundly talented individuals who achieved great results in their career and in their districts. And although I’m very, very proud of our work and think that our story is compelling, I probably don’t think about it as an indi- vidual accomplishment in any way. So, the notion of individually standing in a space where somebody says your name was not a concept and I hadn’t fully reflected on it as a possibility, to be very honest with you.” The Superintendent of the Year Award, presented in partnership by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, along with school bus contractor First Stu- dent and Corebridge Financial, formerly known as AIG Retirement, was announced at the National Conference on Education in San Antonio, Texas. It celebrates the contributions and leadership of public school district superintendents. McGowan took the opportunity to rec- ognize his district support staff. “I think so much of the work is done by our team, and I had just not really absorbed the concept of an individ- ual name being announced in that moment,” McGowan continued. “So, I was surprised and excited, incredibly
32 School Transportation News • APRIL 2023
happy, and really happy for our team and for our district. For our kids, for my own family, for my parents who at- tempted to raise me to be a good person, and it was just an exciting moment.” He added that taking home the award is a stamp of
approval by his colleagues and peers that his district is on the right track. “It’s a reinforcement that we have put children first in all of our work and focused our individual needs, which includes seeing the humanity in every child and making sure that we are standing for their human- ity and standing for getting them what they need on an individual basis, that we’re doing the right thing. …We’ve done something right for the children in our community, which at the end of the day is what we’re in it for,” he said. McGowan, who has been the superintendent of
Brighton since 2009, began his career as an elemen- tary school teacher at Starpoint Central School District in 1996. However, he said, he hadn’t thought about a career in education until he started working more and more with children through recreational activities. “I was really thinking more in terms of communications,” he said of his original career path. “I was interested in sports broadcasting and started down that road at the begin- ning of my college career. It wasn’t long before I realized that I really wanted to think about a career in teaching. My mother’s a teacher and I saw that work firsthand.” McGowan is a graduate of Canisius College with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a
PHOTO COURTESY OF FIRST STUDENT
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