In his 7th year as the Superintendent of St. Paul (MN) Public Schools, Dr. Joe Gothard was named the American Association of School Administrators’ National Superintendent of the year. On the day he was set to accept this award, Dr. Gothard received a call from the Madison Metropolitan School District’s School Board President, Nichelle Nichols to offer him the job of Superintendent of MMSD. Given his success in St. Paul, one might wonder why Dr. Gothard would consider coming back to Madison. The obvious answer is history. Joe Gothard has a significant family history in Madison.
Gothard grew up, attended and graduated from Madison Metropolitan School District Schools, earned 3 education degrees from Edgewood College, and became a teacher and administrator in MMSD. He has generational history in Madison. His father graduated from MMSD in 1954, and his grandfather served on the city’s Equal Opportunity Commission alongside Rev. James C. Wright. But the question of why return to Madison is one worth exploring.
“In 2013 I left Madison to learn and grow,” says Gothard. His experiences in Minnesota gave him opportunities to serve as a state-wide leader for education justice and become president of a state education association and a member of the executive committee of a national association of the 70 largest school districts in the US. In 2023, Gothard was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year. His national experience has given him an opportunity to learn from education leaders in places like New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Gothard also remarked that the timing of this opportunity was just right for him and his family. His children are young adults and out of the family home, his wife is a Madisonian, and he still has siblings and friends in the area. His overall goal is guided by the mantra, “Leave a place better than what it was when you came!” This is what he believes he did in St. Paul where he made some “bold moves, closed schools, opened [other] schools and had a teachers’ strike!”
Our new superintendent recognizes that there are some similarities between his previous job in St. Paul and his new one in Madison. Both districts are located in state capitals where the population is politically astute and rife with non-profits and civic organizations. Both districts have struggled with a legacy of underserving Black students. However, there are some important differences in the two districts. St. Paul is larger both as a city and metropolitan area. St. Paul has a population of about 303,176 while Madison’s population is about 272,903. More strikingly, St. Paul, which abuts Minneapolis, has a metropolitan area population of 3.69 million people while the Madison metropolitan population is about 513,000. The St. Paul School District has about 33,000 students with 68 school buildings and a $1billion budget. Madison Metropolitan School District has about 26,000 students with 57 school buildings and about a $600 million budget. St. Paul has a significantly larger South East Asian student population, constituting about 1/3 of the school population.
Dr. Gothard’s goals for the upcoming year are to first and foremost get the referenda passed during the November election. One referendum is aimed at raising the state revenue caps and the other is aimed at renovating and replacing 10 of the district’s buildings. Secondly, he is focused on hiring excellent employees and ensuring the safety and security of everyone in the district—students and staff, alike. Overall, Gothard seeks to improve the experiences of all students.
Dr. Gothard sees the biggest challenges as the changes around us. For example, the seismic changes in today’s workforce are not being met by the kind of education we prepare our students for in our schools. Our “students need more hands-on learning,” not just to embrace the skills found in a traditional system. Gothard also insists that we must help teachers meet this challenge. Of course, like MMSD Superintendents before him, Joe Gothard hopes to hire more teachers of color as he reflects on his own experience as a MMSD student. He says that Black teacher, Lois Bell, had “an impact on me personally as I wrestled with my biracial identity.” He believes we need an “unwillingness to allow kids to fail.”
As he thinks about addressing academic disparities Dr. Gothard would like to engage with families more directly and develop a more systemic approach to families who have been left out. He also wants to be a superintendent who listens carefully to students about their educational goals and mental health concerns. His message to parents and families is that “We are one community and one school district. I respect your children and feel a great deal of responsibility to ensure they get the best education possible at MMSD!” His message to MMSD staff is to focus on student achievement but not jump to ‘results’ without on focusing on developing people. He also wants to be consistent and focus on the culture of MMSD. He points out that MMSD has lots of priorities and he would like to do fewer things but do them better. The National Superintendent of the Year is poised to make Madison Metropolitan School District on of the best in the nation. We are hoping he can.
