Announcing Finalist for DPS Superintendent

Dear DPS Community,

On Nov. 29, the Denver Board of Education named a finalist for the position of superintendent of Denver Public Schools. Susana Cordova is currently the district’s deputy superintendent and a nationally recognized educational leader.

• She is a DPS graduate and parent who has spent her career in DPS classrooms as a bilingual secondary teacher, principal of a high-needs elementary school and administrator whose responsibilities now include direct supervision of all 165 district-run schools and an annual budget of more than $130 million.
• A first-generation college graduate, Cordova says she is committed to ensuring all students have caring, knowledgeable adults to support them as she was supported growing up in DPS.
• Her focus on equity has led to the transformation of services for students learning English and improved literacy rates for young learners across DPS.
• Read Susana’s bio, cover letter and resume at supersearch.dpsk12.org.

The Board of Education sought to present multiple finalists and was on track to do so. However, prior to the selection of finalists, the only other candidates that matched the qualifications of the finalist withdrew from consideration.

Next step: Final Community Engagement

There will be a period of final engagement with our students, families, educators and community members, which will be a necessary component of the Board’s decision-making process and will inform their final decision on Dec. 17.   This will take place between Wednesday, Dec. 5, and Friday, Dec. 14. Additional details are forthcoming.

As a board, we are incredibly grateful for the community engagement in the first phase of the search to find the very best leader for Denver schools. The input we received, from more than 4,500 people at more than 100 meetings and through our online survey, has guided every step of this search.

Susana possesses the most sought-after qualities we heard from our community, including the ability to set priorities as a leader of a large, complex organization, extensive experience as an educator, and an established commitment to working with diverse communities. In addition, Susana is a collaborative leader deeply invested in working with the community and staff to achieve excellence for students.

National search yields strong applicant pool, exceptional candidates

Denver school board members reached out nationally following former Superintendent Tom Boasberg’s decision to step down after nearly a decade, contacting 95 potential candidates and hearing from another 27 interested people. Of those 122, 41 submitted applications by the Oct. 15 deadline.

All seven board members then reviewed each applicant’s materials and narrowed the pool to 14, before selecting seven candidates to interview. Following lengthy interviews with each candidate, board members chose Susana to move forward as a finalist.

Learn more about the recruitment, application and initial interview process in this search update.

Sincerely,

Your DPS Board of Education

Anne Rowe, Barbara O’Brien, Lisa Flores, Carrie Olson, Happy Haynes, Jennifer Bacon and Angela Cobián