Submitted photo
New Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Joe Gothard.
Joe Gothard went to school in Madison and is a former teacher, coach and administrator in the district.
A hometown favorite emerged soon after the finalists for Madison schools superintendent were announced, and the school board made things official Monday, unanimously approving a contract for Joe Gothard, who will take over as superintendent this summer.
“Today is a super good day,” board president Nichelle Nichols said at the special board meeting, ahead of the vote. “We are super fortunate to have someone who knows our community, who knows our district, who is as skilled and competent as Joe Gothard coming back to lead our district.” Details of the contract, including salary, were not provided during the meeting that lasted just about five minutes and are not available on the board’s website.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Nichols says the contract will be available to the public once signed by the board.
“Having grown up in Madison, and having attended MMSD from kindergarten through grade 12, I am excited to return home,” Gothard said in a written statement the district issued this afternoon, announcing his selection. “I eagerly anticipate reconnecting with familiar faces, while also building new relationships with staff, students, families, and partners who are dedicated to advancing MMSD's excellence. Together, we will create a shared pride in our efforts to make MMSD the best it can be."
Gothard is currently the superintendent for St. Paul Public Schools, where he has served for the last six and a half years. He was named national superintendent of the year by the American Association of School Administrators on Feb. 15.
The statement from the school district calls the hire a “homecoming for Gothard,” who previously served as a principal at Toki Middle School and La Follette High School and an assistant superintendent for the district. “There was overwhelming support for Dr. Gothard, both among the board and in our community,” Nichols said in the statement.
Hometown ties were a big theme in the superintendent search process: knowledge of Madison and commitment to the community were listed as minimum qualifications for the job posting, and many staff and community members surveyed as part of the recruitment and hiring process said strong ties to Madison were important. The district’s two most recent superintendents, Carlton Jenkins and Jennifer Cheatham, were not from Madison.
During the search, interim superintendent Lisa Kvistad said she heard from the school community that “they want someone who knows the community and can hit the ground running.”
Michelle Wilson went to high school with Gothard and also served as the multicultural service coordinator at La Follette when Gothard was the dean of students at the high school. She says not everyone saw her position as integral to the school, but that Gothard was very supportive.
“He really advocated for that position and wanted to make that position seen by other staff as important and impactful,” says Wilson, now a social worker at La Follette. “I so appreciated and valued working with Joe on just all kinds of levels…. I feel he's very invested and wants to see our school district do well and thrive and do right by all students, but especially our Black and Brown students.”
District students placed a high priority on equity and narrowing the district’s achievement gap in their Feb. 6 interview of the finalists. While discussing his accomplishments, Gothard said the creation of the country’s first East African magnet school while he was overseeing St. Paul’s public schools, as well as summer school programming, had “made a difference for Black students in particular in terms of graduation rates.”
The Madison school district began a search for a new superintendent after Jenkins announced in February 2023 he would retire after three years in the position. The district surveyed the community and finalized a job profile last fall, began candidate interviews in December, and announced three finalists on Jan. 29.
Interviews of the finalists with groups of students and parents were broadcast Feb. 6 and recorded for the public and media but not open to attend in person; several other panels were closed to reporters and community members.
The other two finalists, Mohammed Choudhury and Yvonne Stokes, resigned from their previous positions amid controversies.
[Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the board’s confirmation of Joe Gothard’s contract.]
Isthmus intern Abigail Leavins contributed to this report.
