St. Vrain Valley School District Superintendent Don Haddad's retirement legacy

Don Haddad, the highly respected and impactful superintendent of the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), is embarking on a well-deserved retirement after 40 years in education. As reported in the April 23 edition of the Left Hand Valley Courier, Haddad says he will not completely step away, hoping his experience and passion for education will continue supporting SVVSD as an emeritus superintendent.

A key focus of Haddad's recent work has been his involvement with House Bill 21-1294, the first of three Colorado bills he was involved with regarding the audit and task force established with studying the statewide performance of elementary and secondary education. The Bill was signed into law July 2, 2021. Haddad said that during this effort he faced opposition from various special interest groups. He stated that the audit's findings validated many of the district's concerns.

Haddad has long expressed concerns regarding the integrity and accuracy of the state's system for measuring the performance of public elementary and secondary education. He emphasized that a standardized, "one-size-fits-all" approach fails to accommodate the diverse needs of individual students.

The second bill (HB 23-1241) created a task force to study the audit results, which Haddad served on. The Task Force issued a report with 30 recommendations for improving the state's accountability system. It was approved in May 2023.

The third bill (HB 25-1278), passed by the Colorado House and the Senate on May 2, 2025, implements the task force's recommendations. Haddad believes that the task force's recommendations are specifically designed to open up the gates of opportunity and ensure accuracy and transparency regarding school quality by addressing the manipulation of test scores. He said, "If HB 25-1278 passes, it will change the face of public education."

Haddad provided examples of how assessment data can be misleading. Results from state assessments are a critical factor in school and district accountability, yet parents and guardians may opt their child out of assessment participation.

In 2015, Colorado adopted a law (HB 15-1323) that allowed individual parents to opt out of federally mandated state testing. For example, parents can opt out their child from taking a writing test, but they are still counted in the participation number, which creates discrepancies. These tests rate schools: certain schools and districts have high ratings, even when numerous students within some of these schools have not taken the test. In alignment with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Colorado's Consolidated State Plan does permit exceptions to participation rates, including parental opt-outs. According to Haddad, this leads to the manipulation and misrepresentation of test score data.

Under federal accountability guidelines, students who opt out are counted as non-participants and may be assigned the lowest possible score. While a school and district can have up to 5% of its students not take the test without facing penalties on the academic achievement indicator, higher opt-out rates trigger consequences. For instance, if only 85% of students participate, the remaining 10% may be assigned the lowest possible score when identifying schools for support under ESSA.

Within the accountability framework indicators, the task force also identified that certain students are counted multiple times across different disaggregated student groups (including race, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education programs, and multilingual learners).

This multiple counting disproportionately affects the ratings of school districts serving larger proportions of these student populations. Haddad pointed out that the state currently calculates test scores for the entire student population and then separately for students in poverty, a practice he questioned as potentially skewing the data.

Haddad said SVVSD has been actively developing these three House Bills since 2021 and commented about long-standing concerns among educators regarding the state's accountability measures. He said, "We were successful because we got sponsors in the state legislature, worked with Brandon Shaffer, and went down to testify. Since then, many states have contacted us for a template of the process."

Summarizing the revamping of the accreditation and accountability systems, Haddad said, "The current accreditation process is a significant impediment to advancing public education today. If you are not measuring post-secondary and workforce pathways, the opportunity you have for students, and the credit requirements as a whole, then you are just measuring by a test with so many flaws." Haddad lamented that what is more disturbing is that the current system has been an opportunity and testing gap designed by groups who want to privatize public schools.

Haddad was excited that his new position would allow him more time to advocate for education at the State Capitol and continue to cultivate business partnerships. He mentioned the number of new schools coming on board due to the recent passage of the bond initiative, which will need attention. He said of his upcoming position, "This allows me to work on many things in an effort to support public education."

Haddad reflected on his success and what the general public considers his humble demeanor. He said, "I had two of the most wonderful parents and a brother who loved me more than you can imagine. I was always raised never to take what I have for granted. I had mentors who took the time to nurture my opportunities, and I have never lost sight of how lucky I am to have started in this district and never lost sight of my values. Some people get lost in a title, but I don't.

"I recently described in a post what a champion mindset looks like. We want our students to get the best education they can get, and I want them to take into life this championship mindset that says hard work is a privilege, you should never seek the path of least resistance, and embrace hard and smart work. Too often, we are always trying to find the easy way, so you have to work hard, and it will benefit you, your family, and the greater good. Don't look for the way out, but for the way in. I loved seeing our students and staff succeed most, and I am really happy to be able to observe that in my new role."