Meet Van Ayres, Hillsborough’s new interim school superintendent
Van Ayres, chosen Tuesday as interim superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools, has deep roots in Tampa and in the school district he is about to lead.
The 48-year-old school district administrator is the son of two longtime Hillsborough educators. His mother, Nuri Ayres, was principal of King and Sickles high schools.
Both sides of the family have lived in Hillsborough County for multiple generations, with Cuban ancestry on his mother’s side. In 2018, local talk show host Mario Núñez called Van Ayres “a Tampeño of the highest ilk.”
He played baseball on a West Tampa Little League team sponsored by Caracolillo Coffee. He stayed with the sport at Jefferson High and the University of Tampa, and now is an avid runner.
But his professional accomplishments vaulted him into contention to lead the nation’s seventh-largest school system after Superintendent Addison Davis resigned last week.
District and community leaders note that Ayres has worked successfully alongside two superintendents with very different temperaments: Jeff Eakins, the insider who succeeded the fired MaryEllen Elia in 2015, and Davis, who arrived in 2020 from Clay County with a mandate to bring change.
“I have complete trust in him,” School Board Chairperson Nadia Combs said Tuesday after Davis suggested that Ayres step in during the search for his permanent replacement. Combs was impressed when other cabinet members — who will likely compete for the permanent job — said they would feel comfortable working for Ayres.
He will start his interim role after Davis leaves, effective July 14.
According to a resume provided by the district, Ayres earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Tampa and a master’s in educational leadership at Nova Southeastern University.
Starting in 1997 as a chemistry teacher at Blake High, he moved through the ranks and in 2012 was named principal of Jefferson, his alma mater. There, he expanded dual enrollment and Advanced Placement offerings, increased the graduation rate by 9 percentage points and saw Jefferson named as one of the state’s top high schools by U.S. News & World Report.
Eakins promoted Ayres to deputy superintendent, with a wide range of responsibilities that included driving up districtwide graduation rates, as he had at Jefferson.
After Davis became superintendent in 2020, he gave Ayres the position of chief innovation officer, overseeing a collection of departments that included school choice, civil rights compliance, athletics and philanthropy. In 2021, Ayres became chief of strategic planning and partnerships, resuming some of the responsibilities he held under Eakins. His duties included leading the five-year strategic plan and collaborating with MacDill Air Force Base to meet the needs of military families.
Melissa Erickson, a longtime school volunteer and now executive director of the Alliance for Public Schools, crossed paths with Ayres when her son was a student at Jefferson. She worked with Ayres to develop a program in which students helped their peers identify and overcome barriers to graduation. The program was so successful, she expanded it to other schools and counties.
Erickson said she was impressed with Ayres’ ease at making connections with children and adults. In an era of data-based accountability, she said, he was that rare administrator who saw underperforming students as kids who needed help, not a drag on the school’s numbers.
“Van Ayres is one of most student-focused people I have ever worked with,” said Erickson, whose son, a distance runner, still compares his race times with Ayres. “He really has what is best for students at the center. He also has a great balance of understanding that educators’ needs have to be met in order for them to serve students, and that is a delicate balance for a leader.”
Early Wednesday, the morning after his appointment, Ayres appeared alongside Davis at a leadership training event at Armwood High.
Principals and district administrators gave Ayres a standing ovation, said communications chief Tanya Arja. He told them about his background and stressed the importance of a positive school culture.
In the coming days, Ayres and Davis will work together to compare schedules and iron out details of the transition, Arja said.
Details have not yet been decided about Ayres’ pay and contract. Those will be discussed when the board meets next at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
