Beaverton School District superintendent Dr. Tony Smith spent his first month on the job meeting individually with every school principal in the district, and he wants families to know what he heard before their kids head back to class Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Smith published a letter to the community on Tuesday, Aug. 18, outlining what he learned during his first month and what he plans to prioritize as the school year begins. The former Denver Public Schools deputy superintendent started July 1 after the Beaverton School Board selected him unanimously in March following a nationwide search.

What he learned

Smith said he met one-on-one with every principal, all district school executives and each member of the Board of Education. He visited summer learning programs, spent time with Teaching and Learning staff and participated in a community roundtable focused on challenges and opportunities facing the district.

He also connected with statewide organizations including the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators and the Oregon School Boards Association, plus neighboring districts.

What he plans to prioritize

Smith's priorities for the coming year center on the district's existing Strategic Plan, "Belong, Believe and Achieve," which was developed during the 2022-23 school year with input from nearly 7,900 community members.

"Strong organizations do not improve through disconnected initiatives," Smith wrote. "They improve through clarity, coherence, strong relationships and systems that help talented people do their best work."

His specific goals include strengthening classroom instruction, developing leadership capacity, using evidence to track progress and ensuring the district's financial and operational systems support schools directly. He framed the approach as creating alignment rather than adding new initiatives, writing that he wants schools, departments and leaders "moving in the same direction."

Challenges ahead

Smith acknowledged that public education faces "significant academic, financial and societal challenges" and that "difficult decisions" and "important conversations" lie ahead, though he did not specify what those might involve.

How to meet him

Bethany, Cedar Mill and Oak Hills families can meet Smith at a drop-in session Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Mountainside High School's Community Room. As we reported July 29, the district scheduled three drop-in sessions; the Mountainside event is the only one still upcoming.

When Smith's selection was announced in March, Board Chair Sunita Garg called him "a strong instructional leader with a proven record of improving graduation rates, attendance and student achievement in reading and math."

Smith said on July 1, when he officially started, that his first priority was to "look, listen and learn." School starts Tuesday, Aug. 25, and the Sept. 2 Mountainside session is the closest opportunity for Bethany-area families to tell the new superintendent what they want him to hear.