The Salt Lake City School District Board of Education unanimously voted to appoint Timothy Gadson, Ph.D., as the incoming superintendent for the Salt Lake City School District. Pending contract negotiations, Gadson will begin his superintendency on July 1, 2021.
Board President Melissa Ford said, “We are excited to welcome Dr. Gadson to the Salt Lake City School District. We had the opportunity to interview three great finalists last week, but Dr. Gadson stood out for his focus on putting students first. In a district with so much diversity, robust academic programming, and a wide variety of student needs, we need a leader who will keep the focus where it needs to be: on our students.”
Board Vice President Nate Salazar added, “Our goal in this search was to select the best candidate for our district; someone who would represent what our community was looking for and who would put our students first. Dr. Gadson is a model of the most important attributes our community told us they wanted, and I know we’ll see great things from him here in the Salt Lake City School District.”
Timothy Gadson, Ph.D., is currently Associate Superintendent of High Schools with Anoka-Hennepin Schools in Anoka, Minnesota. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Economics and Secondary Education from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
Dr. Gadson has served as an assistant principal and principal at various levels, including elementary school, middle school, high school, and alternative education in Broward County and Palm Beach County. He was also District Director of Secondary Education while employed with Palm Beach County School District. Dr. Gadson led reform and transformation efforts at several high schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as Chief Transformation Officer with a private transformation firm from 2010 – 2012. He supervised high school operations for the Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas, served as Associate Superintendent with Atlanta Public Schools, and was Executive Director of Curriculum and Schools with Robbinsdale Area Schools in New Hope, Minnesota.
He believes that all children can learn and will learn when the curricular content and instructional delivery are both of quality and are culturally relevant and responsive.