Oregon’s Matthew Utterback Named 2017 AASA National Superintendent of the Year

New Orleans – March 2, 2017 – Matthew Utterback, superintendent of North Clackamas School District in Milwaukie, Ore., has been named the 2017 AASA National Superintendent of the Year. Today’s announcement came at the National Conference on Education, hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

The other National Superintendent of the Year finalists were:

• Barbara Jenkins, Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, Fla.
• Stewart McDonald, Kodiak Island Borough School District, Kodiak, Alaska
• James Merrill, Wake County Public School System, Cary, N.C.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent our school district in the state of Oregon at the national level,” said Utterback as a 2017 AASA National Superintendent of the Year finalist. “The National Superintendent of the Year has an opportunity to share stories, to share learning (and) to share the good work that is happening in public schools across our country.”

Utterback has nearly 30 distinguished years in public education, the past four years as superintendent of the North Clackamas School District. A suburban school district serving more than 17,000 students on 32 school campuses, North Clackamas Schools is continually recognized as an innovative leader in the state of Oregon and an example of what is right with public education today.

Now in its 30^th year, the National Superintendent of the Year program, co-sponsored by AASA, Aramark and VALIC, celebrates the contributions and leadership of public school superintendents.

“On this special anniversary of AASA’s National Superintendent of the Year program, we are so proud to serve as the founding sponsor of an initiative that is critical to improving our nation’s public schools,” said John Hanner, president, Aramark K-12 Education. “Aramark is honored to congratulate Superintendent Utterback for building high-quality learning environments for students in North Clackamas Schools. We also congratulate the three other finalists, as well as all of our State Superintendents of the Year.”

“As we pay tribute to the men and women who are making a positive difference in the lives of our children, it is truly an honor to recognize the 2017 National Superintendent of the Year and the State Superintendents of the Year,” said John Kevin, vice president, K-12 Markets, VALIC. “We congratulate Superintendent Utterback and the North Clackamas School District for this outstanding achievement. By serving as a sponsor for this important program, we feel we are making an important contribution on behalf of the 50 million students who walk through the doors of our public schools every single day.”

“On behalf of every advocate for a strong public education system in our country, it is an honor to congratulate Matthew Utterback for his many contributions as a superintendent and for being named 2017 National Superintendent of the Year,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “We also congratulate our other finalists—Superintendents Jenkins, McDonald and Merrill, and all of our State Superintendents of the Year. AASA is grateful to Aramark and VALIC for supporting a program that puts outstanding school district leaders from communities large and small on the national stage.”

Members of the 2017 AASA National Superintendent of the Year Award Blue Ribbon Selection Committee included:

• Rich Bagin, executive director, National School Public Relations Association, Rockville, Md.
• Wanda Cook-Robinson (former National Superintendent of the Year finalist, 2013), superintendent, Oakland Schools, Waterford, Mich.
• Jack Dale, superintendent (retired), Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, Va.
• Tom Gentzel, executive director, National School Boards Association, Alexandria, Va.
• Patricia Neudecker (past AASA president), director, administrative leadership, Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wis.
• Darline Robles, professor, clinical education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.

The AASA National Superintendent of the Year program is open to all U.S. superintendents who plan to continue in the profession. The program also honors international school superintendents. The applicants were measured against the following criteria:

• Leadership for learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system.
• Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication.
• Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team.
• Community involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2017 AASA National Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated, or the school now serving the same area.For more information about AASA’s National Superintendent of the Year program, contact Bernadine Futrell, AASA director of awards and collaborations, at [email protected].

  Click here to access a list of the AASA 2017 State Superintendents of the Year.

  About Aramark

  Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people’s lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 19 countries around the world. Aramark is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more about Aramark at www.aramark.com.

  About VALIC

  For more than half a century, VALIC has served as a leading retirement plan provider for K-12 schools and school districts, higher education, government, as well as for healthcare, and other not-for-profit institutions. VALIC, the group retirement division at AIG, has more than $88.5 billion of client assets as of September 30, 2016 and manages plans for nearly 24,000 groups serving approximately 1.8 million participants. VALIC represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. and VALIC Retirement Services Company. Additional information about VALIC can be found at https://www.valic.com. 

About AASA

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.

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