Tracy Dorland has been named the new superintendent of the Jefferson County School District, which oversees over 84,000 students.

The district’s board of education held a meeting in late March and unanimously selected Dorland, who served as the deputy superintendent of the Adams 12 Five Star School District for the last three and a half years, according to a release.

“Her wide range of instructional and school leadership experience, collaborative leadership style, and knowledge of the Jefferson County community will enable her to acclimate quickly as our new leader,” said the district’s Board Director Susan Harmon. 

Prior to joining the Adams 12 Five Star District in 2013 as the district’s chief academic officer, Dorland served as a teacher, principal, principal supervisor and various administrative positions for the Denver Public Schools since 2001. 

During her time as deputy superintendent, Dorland oversaw projects over “multiple district divisions” to support strategic planning, community engagement and the implementation of a $350 million bond, according to the release.

“As a longtime resident of Jeffco, I look forward to continuing the tradition of excellence and working with our schools, staff, students and our entire Jeffco community to achieve greater success in student learning,” Dorland said. 

Dorland earned a Master’s degree in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Colorado Denver, and Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Throughout the search process, 43 candidates were reviewed for the position by search firms as Hazard, Young, Attea Associates. Seven candidates were interviewed for the position, but only four individuals were chosen as final candidates. 

“Information gathered from our Jeffco community formed the foundation of the criteria the Board used to evaluate candidates,” district officials said in the release.

“This outcome would not have been possible without the active participation of our community.”