GREENWOOD VILLAGE | Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Scott Siegfried announced Friday that he will retire at the end of the school year, citing a need to spend time with his family.
Siegfried announced his retirement in his weekly superintendent’s update to the district. In it, he said that he never pictured being superintendent for a prolonged period of time.
“However, I would be disingenuous if I didn’t say that the last year has had an impact on myself and my family,” he said. “As a father, I have always taught my own kids to do what they love, and when they no longer find joy in their job, to do something else.”
After reflecting with his family over the holidays about “goals and priorities”, he said that he came to the conclusion that it was the right decision to move on.
Siegfried stepped into his role as superintendent in the fall of 2018 after decades with the district, first as a student teacher at Eaglecrest High School in 1995. From there he went on to fill many district roles, including teacher, dean of students, principal and assistant superintendent.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 to the U.S. last year, Siegfried was responsible for navigating how the 55,000-student district would manage the pandemic, a challenging task that requiring balancing the needs of teachers, students and parents and interpreting rapidly changing health data.
In a statement, the Cherry Creek school board expressed gratitude for Siegfried’s leadership during the pandemic.
“While we wish that he could stay on in the role to continue leading our district, we
also honor and respect his decision to prioritize his family and retire at the end of this school year,” the statement said.
The board will begin to put together a process to select a new superintendent.
Siegfried is just the latest superintendent in the Denver metro area to announce plans to leave — in November, Denver Public Schools superintendent Susana Cordova resigned to accept a job in Dallas.