Dr. Joe Gothard, superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, is the 2024 Superintendent of the Year. Gothard accepted the award in San Diego, California, on Feb. 15 at the National Conference on Education.
Dr. Joe Gothard is set to return to the school district he grew up in as the newly minted national superintendent of the year
Written by Taylor Ekbatani |
taylor@stnonline.com H
ours before Dr. Joe Gothard heard his name called on stage, he was sitting in his hotel room in San Diego, California alongside wife Mary. The superintendent for Saint Paul Public
Schools was preparing for the National Conference on Education opening session, where he would join 45 of his colleagues from around the county and three other finalists for the crowning of the 2024 National Superin- tendent of the Year. The phone in his hotel room rang. It was the board
president of Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin offering him the superintendent position. “I accepted the position and then a few hours later re-
ceived the Superintendent of the Year award,” he shared. “It will forever be a memorable day in more ways than one. “It was an honor to be on the stage with the nation’s re-
cipients of the State Superintendent of the Year,” Gothard continued as he spoke with School Transportation News after he was recognized on Feb. 15. “Getting to know my co-finalists throughout this process, I was excited to learn which one of us was going to be named, and I did not expect to hear my name. Once my name was called, my
28 School Transportation News • APRIL 2024
mind began to play a history of my life as a public-school student, staff member, superintendent, and the countless people who supported my journey.” By accepting the Madison MSD job, Gothard is returning
to his roots. He attended public school there from kinder- garten through grade 12. He played football, which he said provided him with an opportunity to attend college. “Had I been judged on grades alone, I likely would not
have made it,” he shared. “My initial college experience did not last long for a number of reasons. Finding myself back in Madison and working, I turned to my communi- ty to help me create a new path.” He began working at his local YMCA and coaching
youth sports. He said he was encouraged to apply with Madison MSD as an educational assistant. He was hired and spent nearly three years at Abraham Lincoln Ele- mentary School. He was encouraged once again, this time by a former teacher, who inspired him to go back and finish his teaching degree, which he did. He became a high school biology teacher and head football coach. He went back to school for his principal certification, and after serving
PHOTO COURTESY OF AASA, THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION
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