Madison schools superintendent finalist Dr. Joe Gothard, the current superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools, was named 2024’s National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) on Thursday.
Gothard is currently one of three finalists to be superintendent in the Madison Metropolitan School District. Gothard was once a biology teacher and the head football coach at Madison La Follette High School on Madison’s East Side where he would later become principal.
Gothard now leads St. Paul Public School, the second-largest and most diverse school district in Minnesota, with students who speak more than 100 languages and 70 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Congratulations to AASA 2024 Superintendent of the Year recipient: Joe Gothard, superintendent, @spps_news! #NCE2024 pic.twitter.com/vJt5Qky4dD
— AASA (@AASAHQ) February 16, 2024
The announcement that he had won “National Superintendent of the Year” came Thursday during the national conference on education in San Diego. Gothard was one of four finalists for the award.
“It really is an honor to be a leader amongst all of you,” Gothard said, accepting the National Superintendent of the Year award. “I’m honored to receive this award.”
A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in Gothard’s name to a high school student in St. Paul or in Madison where Gothard went to high school.
Gothard is also 2024’s Minnesota Superintendent of the Year.
