YOUR AD HERE »

Top academic official with Roaring Fork Schools taking superintendent’s job in Pagosa Springs

Rick Holt

Rick Holt, chief academic officer for the Roaring Fork School District and a former Carbondale Middle School principal, will be leaving to become superintendent of schools in the Archuleta County School District.

“It is with mixed emotions that I share that I have accepted the superintendent position for the Archuleta County School District in Pagosa Springs starting July 1,” Holt wrote in a letter to district staff made public by Roaring Fork Schools on Tuesday.

“While I love our district – the people I work with and the work that we do together – I am looking forward to being able to be a part of a small community and even owning a home again,” Holt wrote in the letter.



Holt has served in the Roaring Fork Schools for 14 years, for the past several years in the District Office as the chief academic officer and director of curriculum and assessment, and prior to that as principal of Carbondale Middle School.

Prior to coming to the Roaring Fork Valley, Holt was a teacher in Alaska and served as an educational consultant for the Reinventing Schools Coalition in Talkeetna, Alaska. He is also a past participant in the Iditarod sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.



Holt’s wife, Tiffany, is a first grade teacher at Crystal River Elementary School in Carbondale, and will also be leaving the district.

Holt was selected from among three finalists for the superintendent’s position in the Archuleta School District.

“Rick stood out as a fit for our schools and our community,” Archuleta School Board President Bob Lynch said in a Tuesday news release.

“Rick is an experienced leader who will bring a collaborative and participative leadership style and a depth of knowledge in innovative education to our district,” Lynch said.

Holt’s departure leaves a big District Office position to fill as newly named Roaring Fork Schools Superintendent Jesús Rodríguez prepares to take the helm July 1.

The chief academic officer directs the district’s educational program and serves a critical administrative role — one that took on the added challenge of developing an online learning program during the pandemic.

“Rick has helped good schools become excellent, and struggling schools to improve,” current Roaring Fork Schools Superintendent Rob Stein said in his own letter to district staff and parents.

Roaring Fork Schools Chief Academic Officer Rick Holt interacts with students at Sopris Elementary School in Glenwood Springs earlier this year, where he helped to fill in during the staffing shortage that impacted district schools.
Roaring Fork Schools/courtesy photo

“Under Rick’s supervision, the Cultural and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) team has led the school district to the highest growth for emerging bilingual students of any district in the state year after year,” Stein said, adding “our loss is (the Archuleta district’s) gain.”

Stein said he had been in contact with incoming superintendent Rodríguez to discuss a transition plan for academic direction.

“Our key objectives will be to continue to provide support for all schools and to coordinate the work of the instructional team,” Stein said.

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be reached at 970-384-9160 or jstroud@postindependent.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.