New Los Alamos Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jose Delfin paid a visit this morning to the Los Alamos Daily Post newsroom to meet the staff, from left, Bonnie Gordon, John McHale, KayLinda Crawford, Carol A. Clark, Dr. Delfin, Delbert Romero and Kirsten Laskey. Post photo

By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com

The new Superintendent of Los Alamos Public Schools, Dr. Jose Delfin, paid a visit to the Los Alamos Daily Post this morning to meet the staff. He agreed to a short interview, sandwiched into his busy schedule.

It’s been a long road, but Dr. Delfin is finally living in New Mexico. Born in the Philippines, he moved to the U.S. and began third grade in Chicago. His family relocated to the Washington, D.C. area a few years later. Somewhere along the line, he fell in love with the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe and thought he’d like to live in the Southwest someday.

When he got to the University of Maryland, Delfin started out in pre-med.

“I decided education was my path,” he said.

Delfin spent five years teaching art at an urban, high-risk school. Then he decided to pursue his dream of moving West.

“I wanted to move to New Mexico, but there were no teaching jobs there, so I moved to Nevada,” he said.

Delfin settled in Las Vegas and moved up the ranks in school administration and picked up his master’s degree and his Educational Doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Las Vegas (UNLV),  in his spare time.

After moving to Carson City, Nev., Delfin served first as principal, then assistant superintendent. But at the same time, he was watching the job postings for an opportunity to come to New Mexico. He discovered the Los Alamos superintendent position, applied, and was chosen as the top candidate in a unanimous vote. Delfin has been officially on the job since April 1.

“I love work every day,” he said. “The District has a great familial feel. People care about each other.”

Delfin looks at his role as that of a builder.

“We may not build Teslas or phones, but in education, we build great people,” he said. “My goal is to have a systematic positive impact. I want to support greatness in the staff, students and community.”

If our talents are seen as keys, we can use them to open doors of opportunity by meeting people with other skills.

“We’re meant to team up,” Delfin said.

Although he may make changes at some point, Delfin said, “Nothing is broken. I want to spend the next few weeks listening to the staff and students.”

“One priority will be opening career pathways for every student, whatever they pursue after high school,” he said. “I want to maintain academic excellence while expanding opportunities of all our student.”

The community is invited to meet Dr. Delfin at a public reception, 4-6 p.m. Monday, April 18 at the Sullivan Field House, next to Sullivan Field on Diamond Drive.