For those who don’t know, BVSD has now hired a new superintendent. Who is this mysterious man, you might ask? His name is Rob Anderson and he has big plans for the school district.

Dr. Anderson started as a science and math teacher in Orlando, Florida. There, he became the department chair, then the administrative dean, assistant principal, and finally the principal. Following this, he moved to Fulton, Georgia, where he served as deputy superintendent of academics and helped narrow the achievement gap and raise ACT scores. 

So, what is Dr. Anderson planning to do to BVSD? 

Dr. Anderson has been our superintendent since March, so he isn’t actually new. However, for the purposes of the story, we’ll think of him as relatively new.

When asking Dr. Anderson what his plans are for our school district, he prefaced it by saying that he believes “that Boulder Valley Schools can be the absolute best school district in the .” Having said that, there are things Dr. Anderson plans on and has implemented into our school district.

Dr. Anderson has three areas he’s focusing on. He wants to ensure that “all kids have access to challenging, rigorous, and relevant opportunities,” to reduce the disparities in the achievement gap, and increase post secondary school readiness.

Those are his goals for the whole school district, but I was more interested in his plans that would affect Boulder High specifically. The achievement gap, the gap between respective economic classes’ student performance, is an issue that Boulder High needs to work on.

That statistics for Boulder High, regarding the achievement gap, are disappointing. Out of all the students on free and reduced lunch, 52% don’t meet the English benchmark in comparison to 5% of students who are not on free and reduced lunch. Furthermore, 65% of students who receive free or reduced lunch don’t meet the benchmark for Math, compared to 12% of students who don’t. It means that higher economic classes perform much in school in contrast to those of lower economic backgrounds. BVSD – Boulder High specifically – has one of the highest achievement gaps in the state. 

Dr. Anderson’s goal is to narrow this gap. He’s done it before in Georgia, but he doesn’t believe in a “one size fits all” approach. In Boulder, he plans on working collaboratively with teachers to understand students’ needs and putting effort in over time. Hopefully the economic disparities in Boulder High will have less of an impact on student performance as Dr. Anderson’s tenure as superintendent goes on. 

After my meeting with Dr. Anderson ended, I left with a sense of security in the future of our school district. If our district’s achievement gap narrows, and every kid gets the necessary resources they need, I too believe that BVSD could earn the title of best school district in the country.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Anderson, you can visit the BVSD website.