The Granite School District Board of Education voted Monday to appoint Ogden School District Superintendent Richard Nye as the new Granite School District superintendent.

Nye, a native of Uintah City, will assume his post on July 1, according to a news release from the Granite School District. He succeeds Martin Bates, who announced his retirement in January.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Nye as our next superintendent,” said board president Karyn Winder in the release. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the result of our rigorous search process.”

According to a biography compiled by the Granite School District, Nye has a bachelor’s degree in history from Weber State University and a master’s degree in education administration and supervision from Arizona State University.

He also has a second master’s degree from Weber State University in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on science education, as well as a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Utah State University.

Nye has taught both middle school science and higher education, and joined the Ogden School District as superintendent in 2017.

He and his wife are the parents of three children, one who’s in college and two who are in high school, he said in the video.

Priorities for Granite School District

In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Nye said there are three priorities he focused on in the Ogden School District that he plans on taking with him to his new role.

The first is providing high-quality academic opportunities for each grade level.

The second is promoting social and emotional learning, which Nye defined as teaching students grit, perseverance, emotional regulation and self-efficacy.

The third is focusing on talent development, which he said means making sure teachers and staff members have the resources and support necessary to expand their skills.

“The strategic alignment of resources to those three priorities would definitely be transferable [to the Granite School District],” Nye said.

He also said he plans on prioritizing building on the Granite School District’s successes, such as continuing to personalize education for students.

He added that it’s important to provide students equal access to opportunities and to prepare them for any post-secondary plans they want to pursue.

When asked if there are any specific Ogden School District programs or policies he plans to implement in the Granite School District, Nye said there are certainly lessons he’s learned from the Ogden School District but there are no “silver bullet” policies or procedures in education.

“Education as an enterprise is nuanced and complex, meaning the things that have been working in Ogden, in terms of concept and how they’ve been executed, will need to be adjusted [in other school districts],” he said.

Nye said he wants Granite School District parents and students to know that educators are partners in raising children. Outside of a student’s immediate family, no one desires a student’s success more than educators, he said.

“That’s the mindset that I carry with me and hope to be able to communicate to students and families and all the staff in the Granite School District,” Nye said.