By Diana Whittle
Officially, Dr. Jan Vesely didn’t start her job as the Kyrene School District’s new superintendent—but that was only on paper. For weeks prior, she kept busy balancing her time by getting to know the Kyrene district and completing her obligations to her former job in Tucson’s Sunnyside district.
If the pace feels hectic, Vesely doesn’t let it show. During a recent trip to Waggoner Elementary in Tempe, she cheerfully took in a whirlwind tour of a cooking class during the Summer Academy, and then joined youngsters, by sitting cross-legged with them on the floor, during story hour.
This came after a meeting with the Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell in the morning and a stop to be photographed for Wrangler News soon after.
She says she wouldn’t have it any other way. In the weeks since the Kyrene Governing Board approved her hire in April, Vesely has initiated 77 meetings to introduce herself to parents, teachers, principals, community leaders—anyone and everyone with the time to meet.
This clearly is an administrator who wants to connect with all those involved in the district.
“I already have a positive sense of the community,” said Vesely, “and I am so impressed with the residents’ commitment to education and to service at the schools.”
“Throughout the year, I hope to stay connected with district employees and our Kyrene community by conducting ‘Let’s Talk’ tours at every school,” said Vesely. “I also look forward to being contacted with ideas about improvements.
“I plan to provide regular updates, through newsletters, social media, automated phone and text messages, as well as by participating in school and community meetings.”
Although she grew up in Tucson and spent most of her career there, she says she already feels acclimated to the Valley due to the warm welcome she received.
“Being a district superintendent is the goal I’ve worked toward for my entire career,” said Vesely, “and as superintendent I want to help every student in the Kyrene district become successful.
“This past spring and summer, I was fortunate to spend several days getting to know the district with school visits, attending Governing Board meetings and developing specific goals during a retreat to enhance our excellence and guide our efforts in the years ahead.”
The start date of the school year is Aug. 1, and there will 100 new teachers to meet and orient. Vesely says she knows their importance and that a teacher can change the course of a student’s life, because that’s what happened to her.
“No one else in my family had gone on to college, but one of my high school teachers told me that I must become a teacher. It made a strong impact on me that one of my teacher’s saw my potential and it led to a life-changing decision on my part.
“I worked hard to get to college and then on to obtain advanced degrees. I learned that the best personal investment to obtain is ‘intellectual capital’ because then you can go where ever you want to in your life and career.”
Vesely’s bachelor’s degree in education was earned from Northern Arizona University. She also received both her masters and doctoral degrees in Educational Leadership there.
Her career spans more than 35 years in a variety of educational settings—as a teacher, principal, principal supervisor, executive director, education business leader, chief education officer, assistant and deputy superintendent.
Most recently, as deputy superintendent for the Sunnyside Unified School District, Vesely was responsible for the coordination, development, alignment and improvement of the curriculum and instructional programs.
She also supervised principals and school achievement. Under her direction, schools utilized a problem-solving approach and strategy- development process to diagnose and respond to performance and organizational issues. She also developed the district’s five-year strategic plan.
During her tenure in Tucson, Vesely was recognized as a school turnaround principal and honored by the Center for the Future of Arizona for guiding “Beat the Odds” achievement for a high performing school.
Also in Tucson, she also supported facilitation the district’s Leadership Academy to prepare talented educators for school leadership roles including principal, assistant principal and instructional coaches.
But it’s her new role as Kyrene superintendent that gives her an opportunity to grab the brass ring and lead the district so that “kids can build their brains for the future.”
Vesely will present her goals for her first 90 days in the position to the Kyrene Governing Board at an upcoming meeting.
“My focus during the next three months will be to understand how we can align the resources in Kyrene to ensure that all students are college-and career-ready and that achievement gaps are closed,” concludes Vesely.
