Alumni Spotlight: Education Alumna Named Colorado’s 2020 Superintendent of the Year

Pamela Swanson, Ed.D., graduate of NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, has been named Colorado’s 2020 Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. Swanson has been with Westminster Public Schools (WPS) since 1995 and served in several positions. She was named interim superintendent in 2011 and appointed superintendent in 2012.  WPS serves a diverse population, in which 80 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch.

Under her leadership, WPS became the largest school district in the country to become entirely competency based. This personalized model is rooted in the belief that every child learns differently, and it shifts the system from traditional grades and grade levels to a system requiring students to show mastery of topics before moving to the next level.

Dr. Swanson and her team are recognized as nationwide leaders in competency based education and have become strong advocates for reforming how schools and districts are evaluated. She will represent Colorado in the 2020 American Association of School Administrators (AASA)’s National Superintendent of the Year Program.

She earned her Doctor of Education from the FCE&SCJ in 2004.