Superintendent
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Phone: 720-972-4000 - Contact Superintendent's Office
Superintendent Chris Gdowski
Superintendent of Adams 12 Five Star Schools; Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado at Boulder
Chris has a strong connection to Adams 12 Five Star Schools. He attended school in the district and graduated from Thornton High School. Chris served as the district's lead outside legal counsel for many years, transitioning in 2006 to the in-house general counsel role. He has served as superintendent since November 2009.
During his tenure as Superintendent, the district has consistently improved. Chris has led the work in improving the graduation rate by more than 20 percent; seeing improved school accountability ratings so that 80 percent of the district's schools are accredited as “performance”, the state’s highest rating, up from 50 percent over a three-year period; narrowing and eliminating gaps in district performance in English language arts and mathematics as compared to state averages; and launching a STEM continuum that has drawn interest and accolades at the state, national and international levels. Of the 20 Colorado school districts serving 10,000 or more students, the Five Star District is the most improved in the state's accountability system since 2014.
He serves on a variety of boards with connections to the Five Star District and to public education, including the Adams County Regional Economic Partnership (executive council); Rocky Mountain Partnership (past chair); Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain; Public Education and Business Coalition; and the Denver Area School Superintendents Council (DASSC) (past chair).
In November 2018, Chris was named one of Metro Denver’s Most Admired CEOs by the Denver Business Journal. One of 15 executives honored out of over 100 nominations, he was the only education leader selected. The awardees in the inaugural class were selected based on company success, civic engagement and innovation.