PRINCIPAL SCOTT BOESEL RETIRING AFTER 31 YEARS
He is one of five BVSD principals retiring at end of school year
Scott Boesel started the last day of school in the foothills above Boulder with a visit to Jamestown Elementary's fifthgrade continuation, moved to Gold Hill Elementary's event and ended with a drive into Boulder for Flatirons Elementary's afternoon ceremony.
As the principal at all three schools, he has tried to attend all their major events — a commitment he made sure to keep
Thursday since it was also his last day with students. He's retiring after more than 30 years working in the Boulder Valley School District.
"Everybody knows all the kids at these schools," he said. "That creates a really tight community that really benefits kids and families."
Boesel is one of five Boulder Valley principals retiring at the end of this school year. Early Childhood Executive Director Kim Bloeman also is retiring after 10 years in the district.
Phil Katsampes is retiring after 21 years. He was hired in Boulder Valley in 2002, then became the principal at Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies in 2006.
Other retirees include Sarah Oswick, who was hired in Boulder Valley in 2005 and became the principal at Whittier Elementary in 2014, and Hollene Davis, who was hired as the principal at Crest View Elementary in 2015.
Mark Sibley, who is retiring after serving as the interim principal at Monarch High this past year, was first hired in Boulder Valley in 1994. He also served as an assistant principal and athletic director at Monarch and the interim principal at Nederland Middle/senior.
Boesel was hired as a teacher at Louisville's Coal Creek Elementary in 1992, then as an assistant principal at Broomfield's Aspen Creek K-8 and principal at Flatirons. He has served as the Flatirons principal for 19 years, as well as the principal at
Jamestown for 13 years and at Gold Hill for three years.
He said he was interviewing for three different principal jobs, but knew "when I walked into Flatirons the first time, it was the place I wanted to be."
"It was a great school before I got here, and I hope it will continue to be a great school after I leave," he said. "My goal was to create a place where teachers and kids could thrive together. What makes this place go is the partnership between parents, teachers and kids."
He also led the two mountain schools through natural disasters, including the 2013 floods that temporarily closed Jamestown Elementary and two wildland fires in 2020 that were near Gold Hill.
While the floods didn't damage Jamestown Elementary, it took months to restore access and municipal services to the town so the school could reopen. The displaced students attend school at a nearby retreat center and an empty room in Community Montessori
Elementary. During the fires, Gold Hill teachers conducted school in an empty classroom at Flatirons Elementary for a week.
"The small mountain schools have challenges, but also provide two very
unique, great experiences for kids," Boesel said.
Flatirons Elementary parent Elizabeth Parr called Boesel "the heartbeat" of the school. She said "Mr. B" welcomes students and families outside in the morning, visits with students during lunch and enthusiastically participates in events — including volunteering for a dunk tank and dressing up in a '70s costume to sing in the talent show.
"Mr. B truly personifies
what it means to be a ‘students first' principal," she said.
Boesel also was nominated for this year's Impact on Education Lifetime Achievement award. In her nomination letter, parent Kelley Boyd wrote that he ensures "that every student is met with a warm and welcoming environment."
She wrote that he brought the anti-bullying "No Place for Hate" program to the school, along with creating the "SOAR" — Safety, Own
It, Achievement and Respect — positive behavior support program. And he surprised her third grader with a visit to his weekend basketball game after a recent cancer diagnosis in their family.
"Our son was so touched by this show of support and it meant the world to him, and it is just one of many examples of the impressive level of dedication to his students that Mr. B. embodies," she wrote.