Newsmakers: Wayzata’s New School Superintendent Ready for the Challenge
Wayzata Public Schools will have a new leader when this school year wraps up.
Robb Virgin is stepping into the superintendent role this summer.
He’ll take over from Chace Anderson, who has spent 18 years as the district’s top administrator.
CCX Media reporter Kevin Miller interviewed Virgin ahead of the district’s upcoming April 14 referendum.
The full text of their conversation is below.
Robb Virgin: I’m thrilled to be joining the Wayzata Public Schools community. I’ve made my career in neighboring high-performing districts. I’ve spent time in Minnetonka and in Eden Prairie. But the experiences I draw on quite a bit are when I started as a teacher. I think about that almost every day, actually, as I started as a middle school social studies teacher. I taught in Eau Claire and in Farmington and then spent some time at the University of Minnesota in teacher preparation and keep that at my root because what happens in the classroom is the most important part of our district. And I’ve had great experiences being a high school principal and supporting principals and supervising principals and district leaders and excited to bring all of those experiences here to Wayzata and to be part of a community that believes so much in their schools already. And that’s what makes me really know that Wayzata is a special place is we’ve achieved so much and have such a tradition of excellence and the community support for how do we continue that and what does our next chapter look like and that’s a really rare and special combination that I could not be more excited to join.
Kevin Miller: Sure. And you know, you’re coming from a growing district in Eden Prairie to another district here in Wayzata that’s looking to grow. How does that—what does that mean for you?
Robb Virgin: Yeah. Growth is a good thing, you know. I think we need to acknowledge that the growth we have here in Wayzata of in-district resident enrollment increases is because the schools are so great. That’s a big reason why people choose where to live. And I’m just grateful for the tradition and the legacy that Dr. Anderson and the leadership team has set here. And that’s why we have the growth we do because of the quality that students and families are experiencing each day. What going through growth has taught me is you really need systems. You’ve got to plan proactively for how are we ready for the students that are coming, how do we make sure we have facilities set up, our operations and finances in order, as well as, you know, growth is only good if quality scales with it. We’ve got to make sure that the experience stays at the center even through growth. And all of our work should be about making sure that every student experiences an excellent experience every day. We want to continue to be a national leader in public schools and we will, and we want to make sure each and every student experiences that level of excellence each day. And through growth, that requires a lot of proactive, thoughtful planning.
Kevin Miller: Sure. And as we’re talking about growth, the district now has a referendum coming up here in April. How significant is that?
Robb Virgin: Yeah. What an exciting time for me to be joining the district and an important time. This marks a big chapter ahead for Wayzata Public Schools is the growth we have of resident enrollment creates real needs. And the needs in front of us for having learning environments that promote inspired learning, that promote authentic learning that will help students be successful now and into the future is real. We need to make sure that we have the space and the facilities for that to happen as well as the safety and security and the other pieces that come part of that. And I am really inspired and impressed by the thoughtful community teams and task forces that have led to this, the data-informed decision-making that have led to these proposals, and just really encourage people to learn about each of the three ballot measures and to think thoughtfully about what this can mean for Wayzata Public Schools moving forward. It’s an important time and inspiring time, as I mentioned, and as you learn more about each ballot measure and develop a plan to vote on April 14th, and you can do early voting and you can learn more about that on our website. But the opportunity in front of us to really set the tone for the future of Wayzata schools is amazing. And these needs are real and they’re driven by past success, as I mentioned, of you know, our track record of success has caused more growth. And the needs aren’t going to go away. I don’t imagine there’s going to be a cheaper time in the future to build and to do construction projects. So we’re at a great time. The district is so well-positioned and I’m excited for what’s to come after April 14th.
