Lewis-Palmer D-38’s new superintendent Amber Whetstine is no stranger to the school district or its community.

Prior to her appointment in May to lead the district, she had been its assistant superintendent since 2021, when she worked alongside former superintendents K.C. Somers and Stacie Datteri.

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Now, as she looks ahead to her first year in the new role, Whetstine looks to provide stability to D-38’s traditions while also pushing it forward.

“I am extremely honored and proud to be serving in this role, both as superintendent and as a parent in the district,” she said.

“And I don’t take the responsibility lightly. I’m committed to continuing to develop relationships with all of our community stakeholders and I’m committed to upholding our reputation as an exceptional school district.”

Starting her career as an elementary teacher in St. Paul, Minn., Whetstine moved to the Pikes Peak region in 2002 and worked in the neighboring D-49 in a variety of roles that included a teacher, instructional coach, principal, the district’s school improvement coordinator and its director of learning services.

The Gazette caught up with Whetstine to discuss her vision for the school district.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Did you always see yourself pursuing leadership positions in public education?

“No. When I started teaching, I knew I wanted to make a positive impact on others. And what better way is there than developing our students into well-established citizens and leaders? So, I really wanted to be a teacher. And then, I had a mentor who saw something in me and told me that I should think about becoming a principal. From there, I got interested in becoming an instructional coach to impact teachers and improve their impact with students. And I just saw the potential to make a greater impact as a principal and, eventually, a district leader.”

What brought you to the Pikes Peak region?

“I think just luck. My husband and I were looking for a more mountainous area, something different from the Midwest where we spent our entire lives up to that point and I was offered a teaching position at a job fair in Minneapolis and we said, ‘Let’s take an adventure and let’s go for it.’ That’s how we got here and we’ve loved it ever since. We have a daughter who’s going to be a freshman at Lewis-Palmer High School next year and it’s just been a wonderful community here.”

What are some past accomplishments or some work that you’re most proud of to date?

“I’m always most proud of the relationships that I’ve developed over the years, whether it’s been with students or with staff or with parents and community members. What I want to be remembered by someday is that I established authentic and genuine, caring relationships with folks. And I think when you ask any of my colleagues or our staff across the district, I hope they would say that I cared deeply and genuinely about everyone’s voice and valuing all of our people.”

Why did you decide to pursue this superintendent vacancy?

“Because I love this community, I love this district. I am committed to this district, both as a superintendent and as a parent. I believe in the core values of our district which include integrity, respect, connection, growth and excellence and I believe that I can make a positive difference by continuing a tradition of excellence, but also helping us pursue new and innovative pathways for students to pursue their passions.

“One exciting priority is the launch of our career and innovation center (CIC). It is set to open this school year and give students new options in career and technical education. So, we’ll have students involved with engineering, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades to start this next school year. So, all of the balance of tradition and innovation is what excites me about serving in this new role specifically in Lewis-Palmer.”

You most recently served as D-38’s assistant superintendent and interim superintendent over the past couple of years. What did you gain from these years in these roles?

“The opportunity to learn about the district. To build relationships with our students, our staff, with our parents and community members. It just has validated what I have known in that this is where I want to be for a long time. I understand the scope of the position. I think in acting as both the assistant and the interim roles, I am very aware of what our strengths as a district are and also our challenges.”

I imagine that you worked closely with former superintendent Stacie Datteri this past year ahead of her resignation. Looking back at this period, can you elaborate on why you think things didn’t ultimately work out with Datteri, given that she didn’t finish her first year?

“I don’t know, to be honest with you. But I do know that our staff and our students and our families are expecting consistency and I hope that what I can bring is a feeling of stability and a vision for the future.

“I have been highly involved with the development and implementation of our strategic plan for the past four years. That has been a very solid and specific plan that has included our board of education and our community through the parent and community engagement advisory committee.

“And what I think is really important right now, as we have had undergone a lot of transition with our superintendents, is to remain focused on those priorities while upholding those district values to give all of our students, parents and staff a sense of stability and also excitement for what’s to come.”

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What are the short-term and long-term goals you hope to accomplish as superintendent?

“So, the CIC is a big one. We are also, this school year, working to reposition our Homeschool Enrichment Academy program as well as the services we provide to 18-21 year olds who qualify. We will be repositioning both of those groups of students into new facilities this school year.

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“We also want to continue to focus on providing the most exceptional instruction we possibly can for our students. So, I’ll be working very closely with principals to support them in providing outstanding leadership at each school site.

“In the long term, we’re going to continue to build out the career and innovation center but we’re also going to explore new and innovative approaches, pathways if you will, that can continue to inspire our students to pursue the passions that they have. I have talked quite a bit about wanting to increase both career-readiness programming but also college opportunities for our students as well.

“And just looking at how we can become a destination district for students and our staff. We’re thinking a lot about listening carefully to what students and families are interested in, as far as programming, so that we can deliver both traditional academic programs and new and innovative programs.

“One of the initiatives that I launched in the past three months as Interim Superintendent, are listening tours. So, I have met with staff at all of our schools and have begun to engage with community leaders to hear about what’s going well in our district and what we can improve and I plan to continue this into the 2025 school year.”

What are the biggest challenges the district specifically faces? What about public education in general?

“We are not unlike other districts across the state and nation in that we need to continually stay focused on our mission and our vision of elevating every student every day and in spite of whatever political and financial challenges there may be. We know that we’re facing increasing political and financial pressures, specifically in the district but also broadly in the region, and I am committed to us not getting distracted by those pressures and continuing to do the very best we can to be both efficient and effective with the dollars that we do have.”

How does your daughter feel about your new position?

“She’s excited, but there’s also like a ‘Don’t tell too many people that you’re my mom’ kind of thing because she’s a teenager.”