One of Oglethorpe County School System Superintendent Phillip Powell’s first priorities was reorganizing the district’s leadership structure.
He eliminated the assistant superintendent position to emphasize communication and collaboration across three departments. The new structure includes teaching and learning, business and support services, and operations.
“We aren’t really adding any central office positions,” Powell said. “What we're doing is just reorganizing to prioritize teaching and learning as our main focus.”
Powell brought in Auburn Bolton as the director of technology and human capital.
Susan Tolbert will serve as the executive director of teaching and learning, Stephanie Ring as the director of teaching and learning for math and science and Jenna Suares as the director of teaching and learning for English/language arts and social studies as well as the director of safety and security.
Powell said he interviewed for each position.
“I knew their work and had personal recommendations on the quality of employee they were, but I like to hire as a collaborative team,” he said.
Bolton had worked at Morgan County Charter Schools, the Clarke County School District and Foothills Regional High School. He brings 15 years of educational experience.
Tolbert, who has 35 years of experience, most recently served as assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Morgan County Charter Schools.
Stephanie Ring has previous experience in Commerce City Schools and Madison County Schools. Ring brings 20 years of experience as a teacher, science department chair, leadership team member and other roles.
Suares brings 18 years of experience. She joined Clarke County School District in 2014, where she served as an elementary teacher, instructional coach and middle school administrator.
Powell said every decision is made with the students in mind. He added the leadership changes didn’t increase the district’s budget because the reorganization was accomplished by restructuring existing positions rather than creating new ones.
“Our job is to support our teachers, our principals and our students,” he said.
Karyn Gunter, the director of special education and student support, said the new structure will allow each department to work more closely together to support each student.
“We’ll be working individually in each department and we will be making sure we support the whole child,” she said.
The leadership team has identified three goals to focus on during the school year.
The first goal is improving performance on the Georgia Milestones while reducing the number of students who score at the beginning learner level.
The second is to support students through a whole-child approach by offering more access to mental health resources.
The last goal is to increase attendance. Powell said 16.5% of students last year at Oglethorpe County missed more than the state allowance. The Georgia Department of Education states chronically absent students are those who miss at least 18 days per school year.
“If you can’t be here, you can’t learn,” Powell said.
Powell said student absence is a significant problem, especially as they increase in grade levels. To encourage attendance, the district plans to launch a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports campaign called “Be a patriot everyday,” which will reward students for maintaining good attendance.
Several members of Powell’s leadership team served in school positions throughout the district, bringing that experience into their new roles.
“When we are making district decisions in our cabinet meetings, I’ll always have in the back of my mind what these decisions will look like in the actual classroom,” Ring said.
She oversees the multi-tiered system of support, which provides academic and behavioral intervention to help ensure each student receives the support they need.
“We’re building on the good things from the previous administration and continuing forward, and I’m really excited about where things are headed,” Ring said.