Meet Curt Finch, PhD | Superintendent

We had the good fortune of connecting with Curt Finch, PhD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Curt, what do you attribute your success to?
The Deer Valley Unified School District has a long history of success with a particular hot streak the past ten years. The advent of social media has helped, and hindered, our brand. The good news is that we’ve been able to change the conversation by putting out quality posts, stories, and podcasts on what is happening in the district, poking holes in the anti-public school rhetoric being pushed by portions of the Republican party. Because we are in newspapers, TV interviews, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Threads, etc., we’ve been able to finally pass our Override, win two national Forbes Best Midsize Employer awards and five Forbes in-state Best Midsize Employer awards in the last decade. Deer Valley is one of the most privatized, chartered, and ESA Vouchered school districts in the state of Arizona and has a top-three in the state academic, fine arts, athletic, and CTE programs. DVUSD has won 70 State titles in fine arts, academics, and athletics two years in a row and there appears to be no end in site. Our success comes from designing a great Strategic Plan, aligning all employee goals to that Plan, and successfully executing those goals. To learn more about our success, go to www.dvusd.org

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up in Alaska where no one was coming to help solve your problem, so you figured out how to be resourceful, creative, and a great problem-solver. I learned these skills of survival as a gold miner, commercial fisherman, and construction worker, which helped me appreciate the leadership skills needed to get the job done. When you have great people around you interested in the success of the organization, your job success increases exponentially. My father was a maintenance man for our school system and my mother was a bus driver. They taught me the value of integrity, good work habits, and purpose. I eventually went to college to become a High School Math and Language Arts teacher, coach, and administrator. After obtaining a Masters and PhD, became a Superintendent for the past 28 years of my 38-year educational career. Last year, I was named the Large District State Superintendent of the Year for Arizona by ASA, the State Superintendent’s Association. The journey has been challenging in Arizona because of the lack of funding support from the State – we are 49th in the nation for State support, an embarrassment for the state of Arizona. Despite the financial obstacles, our school district has overcome and become one of the best K-12 school districts in the state, a testament of working together with little to produce much.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When friends and family arrive from around the country, you have to weigh in the time of year into the equation. Summertime in the Valley is hot, so it is a good time to visit the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, or Sedona for the tourist attractions. During the “winter” time in Phoenix, there are a plethora of things to visit. One of the advantages of being the fifth largest cities in America, there are concerts, events, and sporting activities to visit pretty much every day of the week. ATVs, hiking, and fishing are all available within 20 minutes of the city’s perimeter and even inside the Phoenix boundaries. What is interestingly unique about Arizona is that not too many people are “from here,” which has good and bad implications. We don’t have a sense of community, but we have diversity of thought because of the eclectic make-up of the State.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In the Good-to-Great model penned by Jim Collins, the single most important variable in a successful organization, especially one who is personnel-heavy, is hiring the right people and putting them on the right seat of the bus. Our employees, especially our leadership teams, are the key to our recent success.

Website: https://www.dvusd.org

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