Ashland School District Superintendent Juli Di Chiro has been named the 2009 Oregon Superintendent of the Year by the Oregon Association of School Executives.  The Superintendent of the Year Award is presented annually to recognize chief administrators who exemplify excellence and achievement in educational leadership.

Superintendent in Ashland since the year 2000, Di Chiro leads a district of 3,000 students that has established a tradition of high academic achievement, surpassing state and national averages on all state and national assessments.  The district boasts a graduation rate of 91 percent, with 86 percent of students going on to two- or four-year colleges and universities.

"Juli is an outstanding school leader who is very highly regarded by her colleagues not just for the great work she does in Ashland, but for her advocacy on the state level on behalf of all Oregon school and students,” COSA Executive Director Kent Hunsaker said.  Di Chiro was one of six superintendents nominated for the 2009 award.

Steve Boyarsky, Superintendent of the Southern Oregon Education Service District was among many Southern Oregon leaders who recommended Juli DiChiro for Superintendent of the Year.  “Juli is one of the most knowledgeable educators I have had the opportunity to work with. She is bright, articulate and a champion for public education. She speaks intelligently about personnel matters, school finances, legislation, curriculum, assessment, building bonds or special education, but her goal is building educational systems for student success. She is not afraid to challenge practices or policies that are distracting to the goal of preparing students for the future.”

“Thanks to our extraordinary Superintendent we have come through a very difficult and potentially divisive decade to emerge as an exceptional and unified school district and community, even better than before,” Mat Marr, Chair of the Ashland School board states. “Great changes do not always require great amounts of money.  They require time, compassion, and superior leadership. That is what Juli DiChiro has brought to our district.”

Superintendent of the Year finalists are 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; and
• Community Involvement - active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.

Di Chiro will be recognized at the 62nd annual Oregon School Boards Association Convention in Portland this November, the OASE Winter Conference at Salishan in January, the 2009 American Association of School Administrators (AASA) National Conference in San Francisco in February, and the 35th annual COSA Seaside Conference in June.
Four national Superintendent of the Year finalists will be selected by AASA, with the national winner announced in San Francisco in February.  South Lane School District’s Krista Parent is the only Oregon superintendent to win the national honor; she was selected in 2007.