What can I solve for you?

I can be your coach, mentor and thought partner, applying my considerable experience and insight to create stronger, more stable leadership conditions so the kids in your district are more likely to succeed—your ultimate goal, and mine. Whatever tough questions or decisions you are grappling with, I can appreciate where you're coming from and help you to craft strategic and nuanced solutions—whether related to leadership, board relations, human resources and labor relations, social and political issues, budgeting, program/process design and management, optimizing scarce district resources or other issues.

What's it like to work with me?

I’m responsive and reliable. Working with me means working through often complex, delicate challenges with thoughtfulness and care. I may stretch your thinking, but I’ll help you uncover new perspectives while maintaining a safe and confidential space. I offer superintendents the same deep executive coaching that CEOs get, which is just as necessary—arguably more so—in this context. In today’s climate, superintendents sometimes aren’t given much time to prove themselves. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader and bodyguard, helping you realize your full potential.

Overview

Dr. Paul Gothold coaches, mentors and serves as a thought and action partner for sitting and aspiring superintendents, as well as boards. Drawing both from personal experience and formal study, he understands what it takes to build strong, stable and truly transcendent school leadership—including best practices in areas such as governance, labor relations, instructional design, strategic system building and community engagement. His coaching and consulting services empower education leaders to navigate complexity and drive meaningful change in their districts. He ensures that leadership teams remain centered on their shared vision, and his: what’s best for the kids.

As the former head of the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and superintendent of the San Diego County and Lynwood Unified School Districts, he has a proven track record of leadership that delivers student-centered results. His tenure has been marked by significant academic growth, higher graduation rates, improved test scores and above-average performance by historically underserved student populations.

Paul excels at helping Boards, Superintendents, and other stakeholders foster dialogue and navigate politically or otherwise divergent viewpoints to create coherent, aligned, and stable education systems. He evaluates every angle of an organization and ensures all relevant stakeholders are engaged and brought along in the process.

Beginning his teaching career working with adjudicated youth, Paul’s passion for improving outcomes for vulnerable populations remains a cornerstone of his work.

After School

I am in constant search for that perfect bite of food. I love to cook and have been honing my culinary skills for 40 years. I am perhaps best known for my barbeque and grilling skills but, above all, I am a devoted ‘Girl Dad’ to my two daughters.

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