What interested you in applying to lead Durham Public Schools?
My interest in applying to serve Durham Public Schools as the superintendent is linked to nearly 30 years of living in the Research Triangle area. I know the history and challenges of DPS and view this as an opportunity to strategically connect human, material and financial resources to targeted areas that yield desired outcomes for all children and the greater Durham community.
What is your approach to leadership, and how do you apply it to your vision of excellence in public education?
I operate from a transformational leadership approach which is guided by four principles: 1) Raise the bar for the level of performance through high expectations; 2) Provide outstanding support through a service oriented approach to our schools (teachers and principals) and our students and their families; 3) Hold everyone accountable in their roles and responsibilities for increasing student achievement; and 4) Celebrate successes along the way.
What opportunities do you see for improving our schools?
The opportunities for improving our schools are endless. Through stakeholders’ development, buy-in and ownership of a vision for our district, we will transform low performing schools, increase growth for our higher achieving students, provide educational innovation as well as collaborate with community and business partners.
What strengths do you think we can leverage?
We will leverage the talents and resources of teachers, principals, district level staff, businesses, the community, and faith based organizations in the rebranding of our district. This is necessary for parents to view DPS as the best choice for their children.
What can families, teachers and staff look forward to in the coming months?
Within the first 90 days, all stakeholder groups can look forward to interacting with a visible leader involved in gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. The district and school level administrators can look forward to meeting with me to share their perspectives on the current state of the district and offer suggestions for improvement. Families can look forward to regional level meetings where they are provided an opportunity to share their perspectives as well as feedback on how we can partner to make DPS the choice for parents and students. It is my hope that together we will begin the process of developing our strategic plan that will guide our work.
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