page 2 earning jonathan phipps, abbeville, scxserve.lcsd.k12.sc.us/lcsd/board/suptwinner17.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Jonathan Phipps, Abbeville, SC Work experiences• Superintendent Abbeville County Schools ............................... 2014-present
• SecondaryEducationDirector Lancaster County School District ...........................2012-14
• Principal Buford High ...............................................................2007-12
• Principal A.R. Rucker Middle ..................................................2005-07
• AdjunctProfessor South Piedmont Community College ....................2003-06
• AssistantPrincipal Indian Land Elementary and Middle .....................2001-05
• SiteAdministrator,SummerPrograms Indian Land Elementary/Middle ........................1999-2005
• Teacher Barr Street Middle ................................................1995-2001
• Manager S&K Menswear ..........................................................1992-94
Education• PhD.–LeadershipinEducationalAdministration Capella University .....................................................2007-12
• EdS.–LeadershipinEducationalAdministration Capella University .....................................................2007-09
• AdministrationCertificationProgram Winthrop University ................................................2000-01
• Master’sofEducation/EarlyChildhood University of South Carolina ...................................1997-98
• B.A.History/Education University of North Carolina at Charlotte .............1990-95
S.C. Licenses/Certificates• ElementaryPrincipal• ElementarySupervisor• SecondaryPrincipal• SecondarySupervisor• MiddleSchoolSocialStudies• SecondarySocialStudies• Superintendent
Professional Development& Contributions• RotaryClub Chair-Elect..................................................... 2017-present Member........................................................... 2014-present• TenattheTopBoardMember............... 2017-present• WesternPiedmontEducationConsortium Member...........................................................2014-present BoardChair........................................................... 2016-17
• AbbevilleUnitedWayBoardMember ...................................................................... 2014-present
• AbbevilleEconomicDevelopment SteeringCommitteeMember.................. 2015-present• LancasterUnitedWayBoardMember ...............................................................................2012-14
• LancasterCountyChamberofCommerce BoardMember....................................................2012-14
Page 2 in Lancaster County School DistrictLearning
• StudentAssistanceTeam.............................1996-2012
• HopeontheHillBoardMember.................2006-14• BetaClubAdvisor.................................1997-2000• William&Marytraining forLanguageArts....................................................1999
• CelebrateGreatTeachingAwardNominee .......................................................................1999 & 2000
MyfirstmealinAbbevillewasattheVillageGrill.Thewaitress
askedmywifeandIifwefromthearea.Mywifesmiled,andIsaid,“Ihaveappliedtoworkwiththeschooldistrict.” The waitress responded with,“Ourschoolsaregreat.Theteacherscareaboutstudents,andtheparentsaresosupportive.Mysonplaysfoot-ball,andhereallyloveshisschool.” Duringthesummer,Istoppedbyschoolstovisitandmeetprincipals.Somewerelookingattestdata,somewereworkingwithourcustodianstotrim bushes or repair playgrounds.Otherswerehelpingteachers. Clearly,theprincipalsweredoingalltheycouldtoprepareforthefirstdayofschool. Andon thefirst dayof school, Igotupearly torideaschoolbus tomeet students and see the commu-nity.Thebusdrivercalled thechil-drenbynameastheygoton,andsheasked, “How was your summer?”The bus driver’s relationship withthesestudentswasunbelievable. Now,asIvisitclassesaroundthedistrict, I see teachers smiling andworking with our students. Everyschool Ivisit seems tohavesuchapositive atmosphere – the studentsareengagedinlearning.Everyteach-erIseeisupandhelpingstudents. OneMondayearlyinmysuperin-tendency,IwasaskedaquestiononanarticleIwroteinthelocalpaper. “How did every school in Ab-
beville receiveanAon theFederalReportCard?”StateSuperintendentMickZaiscalledtoask.
So, toanswerDr.Zais’squestion,ourcommunityofparents,teach-
ers, administrators, staff membersandstudentsworktogethertomakegoodthingshappeninourschools. I am proud that out of 82 SCschooldistricts,wereceivedthe3rdhighestgradeinthestateonourfed-eralschoolreportcard. Butnomatterwhatgradeisgiven,I know our teachers and staff give100% tohelpour students achieve.That’sallanyonecanask. Overthelastfewyears,myfeel-ings and beliefs on what makes asuccessful district haven’t changed.First, it’s the people, not the pro-grams.Ibelievewehiregoodqual-ityfolksandspendourresourcestoenableandequipteachersandprin-cipalstodoagoodjob.Technology,new programs and other big ticketitemsaretoolsforteachers.Butbe-ing people-driven – not program-driven–isoneofmycorebeliefs. Secondly,we do not strive to bewinners;westrivetobechampions.Winnersareshort term.Championsbuildalastingprogramofsuccess. Buildingaclimateofhighexpec-tations is the key for high studentachievement.Everyone– from stu-dents to teachers to district staff –should have high expectations.Weonlyachievewhatweexpect. A successfuldistrict shouldhave
very open communication at everylevel.Awiseleaderoncetoldmehehada“nosurpriserule.”Iagreewiththisphilosophy.Weneedcommuni-cation strong enough to ensure weare not surprised – communicationmustbeanongoingdialogue. Finally and most importantly,putourchildrenfirst.Dr.PatBurnstaughtmeyearsagothatwecan’tgowrongifwebaseeverydecisiononwhatisbestforstudents.Ihavetriedtoliveoutthisphilosophyasateach-er,principalandsuperintendent. The right focus, open communi-cationandhighexpectationshelpadistrictbecomemorethanaplacetowork.Thedistrictbecomesafamilyof educatorswhowant thebest forstudents.ThisismyvisionforLan-casterCountySchoolDistrict.
Here’s the key to school district success
Jonathan Phipps
The VisitJonathan
PhippsMonday, May 1