By Kira Walters, Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: While the members of Dare County Schools’ Central Office are so crucial to the function and success of each school, in a recent class discussion, Nighthawk News realized that many students don’t know the inner workings of Central Office leaders’ day-to-day jobs. Staff Writer Kira Walters reached out with questions and was invited to sit down with members of Central Office recently at their office next to Nags Head Elementary School to highlight some of these employees:
Superintendent Dr. John Farrelly
What is your job like on a day-to-day basis? “My job is multifaceted. There are really no two days that are alike. I have many responsibilities, including oversight of our $65 million budget, supervising all of our building level and central office administrators, hiring personnel, planning for programs, and responding to parents, staff, Board of Education members, and the general public (to name a few). My workflow is extremely fast. I prefer it that way so that I can maximize time in all of the responsibilities and duties that I have. I am often in my office for part of the day, in meetings, answering calls or responding to emails. I am typically at schools for parts of the day or attending school events and programs. It’s very important to me to communicate promptly and to be visible in the community. This time of year is extremely busy, as we are working on the public school budget process, recruiting and hiring employees for the next school year, planning summer programs, and analyzing/making decisions on professional learning opportunities for staff. I also spend a significant amount of time in oversight and management of our facilities. I typically work 12-14 hours a day, and usually begin the day at 4 a.m.”
What jobs did you have previously that led you to Central Office? “I was a building-level administrator before moving to the central office. While in central office, I performed just about every director’s role; this prepared me well to be effective in my role as superintendent for the past 13 years.”
What major responsibilities does your job entail? “My essential job functions include: Providing for the continuous improvement of all facets of school district operations, especially as it relates to teaching and learning.
- Encouraging, analyzing and executing long-range and strategic planning.
- Assures that the policies and regulations of the district are followed and executed.
- Assists the Board in the identification of student achievement goals and implements programs designed to achieve and evaluate progress toward meeting those goals.
- Supervises the development of systems for budget development, purchase of goods and services, and accountability for the expenditure of district funding through federal, state and local sources.
- Participates in all Board meetings by assisting the Board in the development of the meeting agenda, by preparing background materials and analyses of issues brought to the Board, and by preparing recommendations on all issues brought to the Board for decisions.
- Prepares and submits to the Board recommendations relative to all matters requiring Board action, placing before the Board such necessary and helpful facts, information and reports as are needed to ensure the making of informed decisions.
- Develops and implements plans for dealing with emergencies and takes the necessary steps in times of emergency to safeguard students, staff, residents and school district facilities.
- Recommends and advises the Board on the need for new and/or revised policies and procedures necessary for efficient operations of the district.
- Studies and revises, together with staff, all curriculum guides and courses of study, on a continuing basis.
- Establishes procedures for communication between and among the board, district staff, media, public and other business, governmental and educational organizations of the community, region, and state.
- Supervises the development of systems for the recruitment, employment, evaluation, in-service, development, compensation and benefits for all district staff.
- Makes recommendations of new facilities or additions to existing facilities, and supervises the acquisition, construction, maintenance and renovation of all district facilities and properties.”
What do you enjoy most about your job? “What I enjoy most about my job are the relationships I have with the many members of our school communities and the fact that we have warm, caring and highly effective schools. I take a lot of pride in advocating for what is best for students and having the courage to sometimes make difficult decisions that are not always popular. What’s popular and what’s right are often two very different things.”
What do you want students to know about how your job affects their education? “A highly effective superintendent can have a significant short- and long-term impact on teaching and learning.”
What is your favorite memory from when you were in school? “I would say my favorite memory of school came during a tragic time. A lot of caring adults were there for me when I was 11 years old. My father died of a cerebral hemorrhage that summer and I was the oldest of five children. It was a devastating time, but my teachers, the school staff and the principal were highly supportive, caring and thoughtful. They made a huge difference then and I will never forget their impact on me and my family.”
Director of Technology Services Holly King
What is your job like on a day-to-day basis? “I’m the Director of Technology here. I never have the same day twice, ever. Most of my role is putting out fires. If it plugs in, it’s my responsibility. So everything from network issues to the devices in your hands, chromebooks, all of that plus all the software you use. All the software that is linked in Classlink, that falls under the department that I lead. There’s also a lot of collaborative projects that happen behind the scenes. There’s a lot of things that you guys see six months down the road, but they’ve been in process.”
What jobs did you have previously that led you to Central Office? “I started out as a secondary science teacher. I taught AP Biology and AP Chemistry, but I loved integrating technology into my classroom. As I learned more about opportunities in that aspect of education, I moved into a STEM teacher role, then ITF (Instructional Technology Facilitator).”
What major responsibilities does your job entail? “My major responsibilities include oversight of four teams: the IT people, the ITFs, the librarians and then the data managers. So when your attendance is not accurate or when your Powerschool is not up to date, that’s my team. I provide professional learning for them. I work very closely with Ms. Parker to make sure that professional learning is aligned with district goals, but also keeping everybody up to date on all of the software. I also oversee all the software implementation to make sure that everybody is correctly rostered in all of their things. I have received the effectiveness of said software so that we are using our software as robustly as possible. From a behind-the-scenes view, we are spending an enormous amount of time making sure that we’re in industry standards when it comes to students’ data safety and cybersecurity.”
What do you enjoy most about your job? “It is exciting for me to connect teachers to resources that make their jobs either easier or more effective or elevate the learning experience for the students in their classrooms. When teachers find a way to do something that they perceive as better or that increases student engagement, that’s what I love the most.”
What do you want students to know about how your job affects their education? “As a mom of a college student and a soon-to-be college student, what I would want students to know about our role in the tech department is that we really want students to be able to use the technology – not only the hardware, but the software – in a way that enhances your educational experience. I feel like it’s my role behind the scenes to make sure that you have that 24/7 access to what you need. Part of that is developing digital citizens who are capable of doing all of these things when you graduate, and so whether that means accessing content at a two-year university, at your first job, at a four-year university, graduate school, we want you to leave with that skill set to be a productive citizen in whatever your next step is. Now, that does sometimes mean that our department is unpopular because that also includes security of your data, or making sure that our network is secure and safe for all people, but (the hope is that) students recognize that we’re making choices that maintain access while still being safe.”
What is your favorite memory from when you were in school? “I went to a residential high school, so I moved out of my parents’ house when I was 16. I spent my last two years living four hours away from home and I can remember my very first American Literature teacher and he was hard as nails. You would turn in a paper and he would give it back to you and you weren’t sure there was text on it because of the red pen. If you turned it in, he would give it back to you and say, ‘I’m not going to put a grade on it because I want you to revise it first.’ I think that was the moment I truly experienced a teacher investing the kind of time it must have taken him to give us that feedback. I think it was that moment that I realized the value of feedback and investment.”
Board of Education Chairman David Twiddy:
What is your job like on a day-to-day basis? “My job on a daily basis is to review and answer communications or issues that come from staff or stakeholders.”
What jobs did you have previously that led you to this role? “I previously worked as the Transportation Director for Dare County Schools prior to being elected as a BOE (Board of Education) member.”
What major responsibilities does your job entail? “The main responsibility for the BOE is updating and maintaining the DCS policy manual. We take care of the business aspect of the job during our monthly meetings.”
What do you enjoy most about your job? “My favorite part of the job is visiting schools and seeing the awesome things our students are learning and also seeing evidence of hardworking staff.”
What do you want students to know about how your job affects their education? “We as BOE members take our jobs seriously and know that we have to make tough decisions on a daily basis. We make those decisions based solely on what’s best for the students and staff of DCS.”
Stay tuned for more Central Office introductions in the coming days here at Nighthawknews.com.
Sophomore Kira Walters can be reached at 24walterski77@daretolearn.org.
