Vance County Schools leader named NC superintendent of the year
Vance County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson was named the 2020 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year at an awards ceremony in Greensboro Tuesday.
Jackson has worked in education for more than 30 years and has served as Vance County Schools' leader since 2015. Under his leadership, the school system's graduation rate has increased dramatically, and the dropout rate has fallen to 2.02% from a five-year high of 5.25%. Student achievement has significantly improved, and the district is no longer designated as low-performing.
WRAL News featured Jackson earlier this year in a series on North Carolina's teacher diversity gap. He explained how his district recruits more teachers of color by seeking out international teachers, mostly from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. He also searches locally as well to add more diversity to his staff.
“If you are a teacher of color out there and you want to work for us, we have a job for you," he said, looking directly into WRAL's camera.
As the 2020 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year, Jackson will compete on the national level for Superintendent of the Year at the American Association of School Administrators' National Conference on Education, held Feb. 13-15, 2020 in San Diego, Calif.
"Dr. Tony Jackson has developed a culture of innovation and excellence at Vance County Schools," Jack Hoke, executive director of the NC School Superintendents' Association said in a statement. "He has created countless leadership opportunities for administrators, teachers and support staff, and has encouraged risk-taking by all employees to improve student outcomes. The district has shown tremendous gains academically, while athletics and the arts have thrived as a source of pride for the district. Dr. Jackson is a champion of community engagement and always closes every presentation with #VanceCountyProud. He is very deserving of this honor."
Jackson was named the Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance Superintendent of the Year in 2014 and is a 2017 Friday Medal recipient for his leadership with implementing technological innovation in North Carolina school systems. He holds a bachelor of science degree in music education from East Carolina University, a master's degree in educational leadership from North Carolina Central University and a doctorate degree in education from Walden University in Minneapolis.
In his time in Vance County, the school district has implemented the Welnspire Digital Transformation initiative, funded by a $200,000 grant. The school system has also developed several innovative instructional programs, including the Youth Empowerment Academy for at-risk middle school students, the AdVance Academy that provides both credit recovery and credit acceleration opportunities for high school students, and the Vance Evening Academy for at-risk high school students that serves as an alternative to long-term suspension.
Jackson's statewide award was given jointly by the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, the North Carolina School Superintendents' Association and the North Carolina School Boards Association. Scholastic sponsored the event and provided $5,000 in recognition of Jackson's achievements.
He was nominated for the honor after being named the 2020 NC Regional Superintendent of the Year. The finalists were:
- Region 1 | Northeast | Dr. Barry Williams, Gates County Schools
- Region 2 | Southeast | Dr. Tim Markley, New Hanover County Schools
- Region 3 | Central | Dr. Anthony Jackson, Vance County Schools
- Region 4 | Sandhills | Dr. Ron Hargrave, Scotland County Schools
- Region 5 | Piedmont/Triad | Dr. Travis Reeves, Surry County Schools
- Region 6 | Southwest | Dr. Chip Buckwell, Kannapolis City Schools
- Region 7 | Northwest | Dr. Scott Elliott, Watauga County Schools
- Region 8 | Western | Dr. Mike Murray, Cherokee Central Schools
