NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Newport News School Board has scheduled a special meeting Thursday for the purpose of appointing a new school superintendent.
A recommendation will be made to appoint a new division superintendent.
- Experience as a principal is required.
- An earned doctorate is required.
- Experience working at the director level or higher is required.
- Highly qualified candidates will have prior Superintendent experience.
- Experience as a teacher is strongly preferred.
- Experience as an assistant superintendent or equivalent position is preferred.
The vacancy is partly from the fallout of the shooting at Richneck Elementary School on January 6. School board members voted to fire Superintendent Dr. George Parker III amid criticism over how he responded to two separate shootings on school grounds prior to the Richneck Elementary shooting.
In September 2021, two students were hurt at Heritage High School. Then following a basketball game at Menchville High in December 2021, a Woodside High student was killed.
"It was never a question of Parker’s leadership. It was a question of whether or not the staff would support his leadership in carrying us through the new challenges we are facing," Board member Douglas Brown at the time said.
The Virginia School Boards Association helped the school board in finding a new superintendent and members of the community were invited to voice their opinions on what they want to see in a new superintendent.
So what qualities does a good school leader have? People in Newport News have different opinions.
Newport News resident Albertina Bumpers said she wants a younger, forward-thinking superintendent.
“I would like to see a person that’s young take the superintendent position, that cares about the community and our future,” Bumpers said. “The older crowd is taking stuff out of books, they’re not caring about the community or the kids, and the kids are our future. So I’d like to see somebody young.”
Lucy Weaver said it’s most important to have a superintendent who will be receptive to teacher concerns.
“They need to listen to the teachers when they tell them it’s a problem. They need to watch the kids more closer, especially with the attitudes and stuff or something isn’t going right with them, they need to call the parents in and they need to discuss that situation,” Weaver said. “I can imagine a lot of these kids got behavioral problems, issues, probably from home or whatever. If the teacher comes to you and says, ‘We need to talk about this child’s behavior.’ Get the parents in and discuss what’s going on. You might prevent a lot of things from happening.”
Another resident named Alvin said he wants someone to focus more on after-school programs.
“Someone to advise them how important homework is, how important being independent is at a young age,” he said. “They don’t want to go home to hear the arguments and stuff, they want to go straight to something in their environment, with their peers.”