Superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District Dr. Harry Bull, announced his retirement at the January 8th school board meeting.
After 34 years serving the district in roles from teacher to administrator up to his five year tenure as superintendent, Bull says he is leaving to spend more time with his family, and pay attention to some health concerns.
“This isn’t an easy choice,” Bull told the school board.
“I’ve been blessed to serve as the superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District, an organization that’s taught me the true meaning of excellence.”
Bull specified that his decision to retire is based on concerns from his cardiologist about the level stress he’s experiencing with this job.
“One of my greatest challenges is finding the off-switch. I can’t turn it off.” Bull told The Denver Post.
Eaglecrest High School principal Gwen Hansen-Vigil reflects on Bull’s tenure as being both challenging and supportive.
“His leadership of collaborative cultures in schools, among the staff, is probably one of [his] greatest contributions,” she commented.
Hansen-Vigil went on to commend Bull’s dedication to the success of his students, by describing a memory of when Bull was activities director of Smoky Hill High School, and the school found themselves without a cheerleading coach before state competitions.
“He stepped up and said ‘I’ll take care of the team for a couple of weeks’. And he really did. In a very short period of time he taught himself some things so he could teach the kids… He wasn’t willing to let the kids go without the kind of support that they needed.”
Hansen-Vigil elaborated, “Even though that was not his area of expertise, he was willing to step forward and do what he could.”
From his time as administrator at Smoky Hill, up to his tenure as superintendent, it’s very clear that Bull has kept students at the forefront of every decision he’s made.
Student Body President Chandler Cook reflects on the relationship that Bull shares with the student councils of high schools in the district.
“Dr. Bull has always been genuinely interested in every student’s opinion. He takes the time to hear us out and takes what students say very seriously.”
Chandler elaborated, “He has helped shape our leadership council by interacting with all the student body presidents before me, so he’s always had a behind-the-scenes voice at our school.”
Bull’s reach as superintendent has extended far beyond interacting with students, to impacting teachers who are new to the district. New teachers to CCSD attend a week long training kicked off by Bulls’s hour long inspirational talk.
Jim Prager commented that, “Dr. Bull was a pretty impressive speaker in that he had a clear plan and a clear vision for the district.”
Prager added, “He took pride in the fact that Cherry Creek is a solid, powerful district that teachers want to be in and leverages that in his message.”
Prager continued, “We talk about race, we talk about gender, we talk about the equity in ‘you are going to teach every kid.’ You are going to make efforts to try and impact every student of every race of every gender of every background.”
“And coming from a district that kind of hid from those conversations, it was really empowering to come here and hear him say that at the beginning of the year and then see it in action at school,” finished Prager.
Following community input, the Cherry Creek School District has announced that it will post the job of superintendent internally.