Special to The Mississippi Link
The Board of Trustees of Jackson Public Schools has selected Dr. Lonnie J. Edwards, Education Program Specialist with the Georgia Department of Education, to serve as the district’s next superintendent, following a three-month search that began with employee and community meetings in May.
“Dr. Edwards’ experience at the state level, coupled with his district-level work in the 100,000-student DeKalb County School System for 33 years, convinced a majority of the Board that he is the right person for the job of superintendent at this time in Jackson’s history,” said School Board President Delmer C. Stamps.
Stamps said Board members weighed the individual merits of each candidate, the sentiments of the various stakeholders, and the Board’s own scrutiny of the candidates’ attributes and credentials before voting. In addition to the comprehensive screening of the candidates’ backgrounds, Board members met with key education and community leaders in the two out-of-state candidates’ hometowns to gain insight about the candidates’ reputations. In the end, Dr. Edwards was approved by a 3-2 vote of the Board.
“Dr. Edwards has impressive credentials and a reputation as a highly energetic and enthusiastic education leader in his community,” said Stamps. “He is well known for thinking outside of the box and for getting things done in innovative ways. We need that.”
Dr. Edwards, of Atlanta, served in various roles as an administrator for the DeKalb County School System: Assistant Superintendent for Business Affairs, Assistant Superintendent for Parental Involvement, Community & Support Programs; Area Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Administration, where he managed the administration and operations for elementary (including theme and magnet schools), middle, and high schools; and Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Administration, where he managed the administrative operations for 84 elementary principals, 175 assistant principals, 5,000 faculty, and 55,000 students. His district level experience in the DeKalb County Schools includes Assistant Superintendent for Community and Staff Relations and Assistant Director of Personnel. At the school building level, he has served as assistant principal, physical education coordinator and teacher.
“The Board believes it is crucial that we move forward in confirming a strong instructional leader for the school district at a time when curriculum standards are more rigorous and the mandates for higher student achievement are undeniably more demanding than ever before,” Stamps noted. A moratorium on state accountability achievement levels is in force during the 2008-09 school year, as school districts across the state implement a more rigorous curriculum for student achievement.
The selection of Dr. Edwards follows a three-month superintendent search blitz to fill the district’s top job. The Jackson School Board on April 30 announced a series of meetings to gather input about criteria for a new superintendent for the more than 31,000-student school district. The meetings included an employee meeting on May 4 and community meetings May 6, May 9, and May 12. Board members used the input from the meetings, along with that from online surveys, to develop criteria for the superintendent search. The responses from the meetings and the online surveys were compiled by the Mississippi School Boards Association, which was hired to conduct the superintendent search.
Shortly after a July 3 closing date for superintendent applications, the Board selected five finalists from a field of 21 applicants. Two finalists withdrew from consideration during the week of July 21, citing other opportunities as the reason for their decisions. Dr. Rebecca S. Lowry, an assistant superintendent in the Dayton (Ohio) Public Schools, stated on July 22 that she was withdrawing from consideration, and Dr. Luis B. Gonzalez of Mathis, Texas, announced his decision to do the same on July 25.
The Board has also accepted the resignation of Dr. Earl Watkins as superintendent and has engaged his services as a consultant to assist in the transition to new leadership. Dr. Watkins will also provide the Board with a report to help the district implement the SACS recommendations from the 2008 Accreditation Report.
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