New appointments at Burton Elementary, Building Services, and Community Education

December 10, 2021—Dr. Kimberly Ferrell, principal of Burton Magnet Elementary School, was named assistant superintendent for elementary schools at the Durham Public Schools Board of Education’s December 9 work session. She will join Dr. Stacy Stewart, assistant superintendent for school transformation, in providing academic leadership and principal supervision for DPS’s elementary schools.

“I am excited and pleased that Dr. Ferrell will continue her leadership with Durham Public Schools,” said DPS Superintendent Pascal Mubenga. “She is joining a first-rate team of veteran educators whose commitment to student achievement is beyond reproach. Her knowledge and experiences will facilitate strong gains at our elementary schools.”

Dr. Ferrell’s results-oriented leadership has led Burton Magnet Elementary School to higher achievement, earning the school a 2020-2021 Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase School, a designation awarded to only 325 schools in the nation, for the fourth year in a row. The school has become known for its social and emotional care for students, intense community engagement particularly with the McDougald Terrace community, and a steady, continuing increase in academic achievement. Burton was named a “Top 20” National Magnet School of Excellence by Magnet Schools of America and a National ESEA Distinguished School, both in 2020.

Dr. Ferrell earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from North Carolina State University. She was DPS’s Principal of the Year in 2018.

Assistant principal Tiffany Boss will succeed Dr. Ferrell as interim principal of Burton Magnet Elementary School. Boss holds a Master of School Administration from N.C. State University and has been an assistant principal for Burton and Y.E. Smith elementary schools since 2017. She has also been a Multi-Tiered System of Support facilitator, academic coach, testing coordinator, and longtime teacher in DPS.

In other appointments:

• Fredrick A. Davis II will take on a new role in DPS’s Operational Services division as executive director of building services. Davis joined the Operational Services team as a facility support specialist and rose through the ranks as a manager/lead planner for numerous building and renovation projects for DPS Construction and Capital Planning. Following a detour to YMCA of the Triangle, he returned to DPS as director of design, construction, and sustainability. He holds a Master of Arts in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

• Tracy Super-Edwards has been named director of community education. She has served as coordinator of extended learning for DPS, supervising before- and after-school programs and summer camps. She recently secured a $7.4 million North Carolina Early Childhood Stabilization Grant and coordinated the operation of six in-person Learning Centers while schools operated in remote learning due to COVID-19. She has also worked with the NC Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Chapel-Hill Carrboro City Schools. She holds a Master of Education Leadership and Administration from Jones International University.

Boss, Davis, and Super-Edwards