Local Spotlight: Meet Aurora's new superintendent, Michael Giles

Michael Giles opened his first school year as superintendent of Aurora Public Schools this month with a meet-and-greet tour, visiting classrooms around the district.

Why it matters: His goal is to make Aurora a "destination district" where the community wants to send their students and work, he told Axios Denver in an interview this week.

Zoom in: The school board picked him for the top post this summer after he worked as assistant superintendent of equity, culture, and community engagement in Cherry Creek schools.

What to know: We asked Giles — a 25-year Aurora resident — what the community needs to know about him as part of our Local Spotlight series.

• Here's what he shared.

👉 His leadership motto: He believes in being a servant leader. "The leader is only as good as those willing to follow him or her."

🏈 What's on his desk: A football signed by friends and supporters more than a decade ago when he first became a principal.

• "You can barely read the signatures anymore but it's still something near and dear to me."

🥘 Favorite place to eat: Monsoon, an Indian restaurant in Southlands in Aurora.

⛰ Favorite place in Colorado: Breckenridge. He said he tries "as much as possible to get to the mountains," and loves to ride the gondola.

🗞 Go-to news sources: Denver Post, Sentinel and Urban Spectrum

💙 What drives him: "My passion for kids and community."

🚩 Biggest challenge: "Personally, learning the schools and the system. … That's the biggest hurdle I'm going to face coming in."

🌎 Greatest learning experience: Growing up with a parent in the military, he moved around the globe.

• It taught him to be "flexible and open to new opportunities, challenging myself and taking risks," as well as showed him the "beautiful diversity across the world."