Page Unified School District’s Governing Board hired Dr. Bryce Anderson to serve as the district’s interim superintendent while it searches for a permanent superintendent. Anderson began his role on Nov. 17.

Anderson brings three decades of teaching and school administration experience to the position. He most recently served as superintendent of the Kayenta Unified School District, a position he held for four years.

He holds a Doctor of Education in educational administration and supervision from Arizona State University, a Master of Arts in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Minnesota State University.

Anderson began his career as a high school social studies teacher, and also coached girls basketball and boys swimming. 

After that, he transitioned into a master’s program and continued his education career in administration. He has served as an assistant principal for six years at two different high schools, and principal for 11 years: first at Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona, then at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Following his time at Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Anderson spent two years as an assistant superintendent at Higley Unified School District in Gilbert, Arizona, prior to his four years as superintendent with the Kayenta Unified School District. 

While acting as PUSD’s interim superintendent, Anderson will deal with the day-to-day operations of the school district. He will consult closely with the Governing Board on decisions that will have long-term impacts on the district, schools, teachers and students.

One of Anderson’s main goals with the district will be working with the Governing Board to attract a high-quality, long-term superintendent. The ideal candidate will bring with them a set of skills and experience that will benefit and positively impact the school district and the community.

“To help facilitate that, one of my objectives is to establish an environment and culture at PUSD that the superintendent candidates will find appealing,” Anderson said. “I want to help put the district on a trajectory for success and to provide the next superintendent with a list of ideas, suggestions and information that will help him or her transition into an effective role when they take over here.”

Anderson will work to bring the district to a place that’s better than when he arrived. He sees himself as the person whose responsibility it is to clear the path of obstacles so the next superintendent can hit the ground running and effectively lead the district.

“My hope is to provide support to our teachers, to our support staff and to our administrators,” Anderson said. “I want to be somebody who listens and makes decisions that are in the best interest of our students and impact in a positive way our student outcomes.”

The way the superintendent search process will work is that community input will be sought via an online survey to solicit critical qualities important in the next superintendent as well as to advertise the position. When the advertisement closes, there will be a screening process to evaluate the candidates to narrow them down to a group of candidates that will be interviewed and further narrowed to a group of finalists. 

The final group of candidates will be interviewed by the board. Students, staff and the community will have the opportunity to interact with the finalists and provide the board input regarding the superintendent candidates. 

Anderson said he will stay in his position for as long as is necessary for PUSD to find a qualified superintendent.

“I’m at the disposal of the board,” he said. “I am here to serve, and do whatever I can to support the district, support the Governing Board and the important work of educating students.”