(Salt Lake City, UT) – Iron County School Superintendent Jim Johnson was named Utah Superintendent of the Year Monday by his peers during the Utah School Superintendents Association meeting in Sandy. According to a news release issued by association, Johnson has been in education 36-years as teacher, principal and the past 13-years as superintendent of the Iron County School District.

Johnson serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Southern Utah University and as a member of the Governor’s Education Excellence Commission and president of the Utah School Superintendents Association.

Johnson has played a key role in the creation of SUCCESS Academy (Southern Utah Center for Computer, Engineering and Science Students), an early college high school based in Cedar City, Utah. SUCCESS Academy has two campuses, one located at Southern Utah University (SUU) in the Iron County school district and at Dixie State College of Utah (DSC) in the Washington County school district that allows graduates to complete high school with their Associate’s degree. He is also instrumental in starting the district’s first-ever elementary lab school, similar to the Edith Bowen Lab School at Utah State University (USU). This new lab school is another partnership with SUU and North Elementary that will provide college students with practical training for teaching while providing additional one-on-one help to under-advantaged students.

Johnson was one of the first in the state to develop and use formative online assessment in reading to help teachers, parents and students know exactly how they are performing in reading at various times throughout the school year. Teachers in Iron County measure student ability each fall and in the spring and hold themselves accountable to ensure academic growth for every child.

Under Johnson’s leadership, the district has managed growth well, been fiscally responsible, implemented a Response to Intervention (RTI) program that meets the educational needs of every single student in the district, and produced end-of-level test scores that are consistently higher than state and national averages. He has lead the way in innovative ways to produce green energy which includes ground sourcing; a way to cool and heat schools using thermal tubes buried deep in the earth.

Johnson hosts a district celebration every fall with all of his staff members in recognition of student achievement from the previous year sending staff and teachers a strong message of support and encouragement for the upcoming year, according to the news release.

Johnson and his wife, Debra, have one daughter, two sons and seven grandchildren.