ALAMOSA — After spending a decade as the principal of Alamosa High School (AHS) preceded by almost twice that many years with the district where he was both in and out of the classroom, Andy Lavier is headed north to Center where he has been hired as that district’s new assistant superintendent.
Lavier leaves behind a record marked by outstanding achievements, most notably in academic performance.
“Mr. Lavier leaves a legacy of being at the Performance Level for ten years during his tenure at Alamosa High School, and he has accomplished a great deal,” says Diana Jones, Alamosa School District superintendent. “We wish him the best as he embarks on this new journey and opportunity.”
Under Lavier’s leadership, AHS also excelled in other areas, as noted by Luis Murillo, assistant superintendent.
"Mr. Lavier has been an integral part of AHS' success,” Murillo says. “In his time at the helm, AHS transformed into a performing school and has stayed there for the past 10 years. Also, in his time at AHS, the student body competed in sports and academics, winning several championships. Andy bleeds maroon and will be missed. We wish him the best of luck in his leadership endeavors.”
There are other accomplishments that can be attributed to Lavier, but they aren’t the kind that end up in reports from the Colorado Department of Education or scoreboards on a field.
As principal, Lavier brought AHS and its students through the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most challenging times for schools in recent history. The graduating class of 2024 started their high school experience at the height of the pandemic.
During that time, especially when the scope of the pandemic was not yet known, Lavier was a regular at school board meetings where, along with other principals, teachers, and staff, they would provide feedback to the ASD Board of Education about how things were going.
And, in the end, the class of 2024 was noted for the number of honors, scholarships and accolades they received.
During Lavier’s tenure, AHS was also the target of what the FBI calls, “swatting,” where a fake call is placed to the school saying there is an active shooter on campus.
As a result, the executive management team and their partnership with Lavier, other top administrators at the schools and staff, ASD now has a strong, flexible but effective security protocol.
In his role as principal, Lavier also addressed a grieving community when he spoke at the funeral of Eric Melgosa, Lavier’s close friend and Alamosa’s Athletic Director who passed away in January of 2023. Despite grieving himself, Lavier spoke with dignity and grace.
When asked about hiring the next person to AHS into the future, Superintendent Jones said the position will be posted immediately and “a hiring committee will participate in a first round of interviews.”
