The district announced June 16 that Peterson would succeed Paul Sweat in the superintendent job.
Peterson brings with him two decades of experience as a teacher and administrator.
As he begins his new role, Peterson said he’s passionate about supporting educators, who in turn support the children in the district.
He said he’s been working for years to improve student achievement. When he arrived in Wasatch County six years ago, it was as the director of academics. District leaders told him they wanted to become the highest-achieving district in the state.
“The whole premise of that philosophy is a deep belief in the adults that work in your system, and to invest in them through collaborative efforts to the point that their capacity grows,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 3. “The only way to increase student achievement is to increase the capacity of the adults that work with them.”
Peterson said he believes in creating professional development within the district, so teachers can learn from their coworkers.
“We believe the experts are teaching in our classrooms every year,” he said. “The board has given us quarterly days for teachers from across schools to get together and share those things, so we keep that idea flowing going.”
For students, Peterson said a diverse array of opportunities – both inside and outside the classroom – is key to helping kids succeed and grow.
“Education can get a little bit into the mindset of, the kids are here to achieve the goals that we see as important to them, and we know that’s not the case,” he said.
In grade school, he said teachers work to help kids achieve at a high level so all their options remain open. In high school, teenagers can start to discern whether they want to pursue trade school, college or something else.
“We should be diverse enough and supportive enough to allow each of those things to take place, because our real success is when we launch a kid into life — it’s not test scores,” he said. “Were we able to launch a kid into life in a passion area that they have, so that they can pursue that?”
Peterson said he’s committed to leading with decisions he would want for his own children.
He started work as superintendent July 1.
