Update, 9-15-23
Sitka Schools superintendent Steve Bradshaw is out of the hospital and on the road to recovery – although that road will be long.
Bradshaw sustained serious injuries in a fall in Juneau on September 7, and was medevaced to Seattle.
Bradshaw is serving as interim superintendent in Sitka for one year. In a call with KCAW (9-15-23), Bradshaw says he’s returned to his home in Helena, Montana to be under the care of family, or as he put it “to be with people who don’t mind if I’m moving as fast as a snail.”
Bradshaw suffered five broken ribs and a pair of cracked vertebrae in the accident, in addition to a concussion. He’ll be in a back brace for about 6 weeks, and he expects to return to Sitka by mid-October.
Bradshaw says he believes the district is in good hands with assistant superintendent Deidre Jenson and special education director Chris Voron, and the exceptional administrative and teaching staff.
He says he’s found new empathy for others who’ve suffered broken ribs, because the injury is quite painful. He told KCAW, “It reminds me of a time in football when you’ve taken shots in the back and didn’t see it coming.”
Original Report, 9-13-23
Sitka Schools superintendent Steve Bradshaw is reportedly in stable condition at a Seattle hospital, after being medevaced last week.
In a news release from the Sitka district office, assistant superintendent Deidre Jenson says that Bradshaw was attending a conference in Juneau late last week, when he sustained multiple injuries in a fall. He was subsequently medevaced to Seattle for additional care.
Jenson says that due to the extent of Bradshaw’s injuries, he will have some recovery time. Nevertheless, he is planning on returning to finish his interim superintendent role for the remainder of the year.
Bradshaw was hired on July 1 for one year to serve as interim superintendent, while the Sitka School Board searched for a full-time replacement for Frank Hauser, who left the job in Sitka to become superintendent in Juneau.
Bradshaw has been an education professional for 44 years. He came out of retirement for the interim post in Sitka. He most recently was the superintendent of the Columbia Falls, Montana, school district from 2014 to 2020. Prior to that, he was superintendent in Sitka for 13 years, and principal of Sitka High School for three years.
