The Best Days Are Ahead For The Water Valley School District
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
I still remember what Coach Clint Faust told parents during the football athletic banquet earlier this year, insight on what makes the Water Valley School District so special. Coach Dexter Ross, an English teacher at the high school, was the guest speaker at the banquet and his passion for students was very evident during his remarks.
“That is why I came back to Water Valley, folks like Coach Ross. He gets to see and mentor your kids every day and I can name 10 others just like him,” Faust told the parents after Ross left the podium.
One of Coach Ross’ students was in my office last week and told me she enjoys going to school each day because of his class. It was no surprise that he was selected Teacher of the Year at the high school and was named assistant principal at Water Valley High School starting with the upcoming school year.
And Coach Faust is right –Coach Ross is one of many educators at the Water Valley School District who make a difference in the lives of their students every day. Educators like Coach Ross have helped provide stability during some rocky days at the district, problems that ranged from leadership issues at DES to battling back from being a D-rated district to a B-rated district.
Now the good news, I believe the tough days are in the rear view mirror and the future looks bright. You could feel the enthusiasm last Thursday night during the school board meeting affirming that a strong administrative team is in place at Davidson Elementary School (DES), the high school and for the district.
It’s no secret that it has been tough finding the right principal at DES since the death of Dr. Carol Gary in 2013. Dr. Gary set the bar high and was a tough act to follow. Since then there has been a string of principals, some strong administrators and educators, but not necessarily the right fit for DES.
When Chasity Logsdon was recognized as teacher of the year at DES last week, she had valuable insight that prompted this week’s column. Logsdon is another teacher who goes the extra mile for students every day. After a lengthy list of accolades were shared during the presentation, Logsdon told school board members that she is only a small piece of the puzzle.
Then she talked about the future.
“Our puzzle pieces are coming together at DES and it is going to be amazing when it all comes together,” Logsdon said.
Ironically it was a mid-year shuffle that put the puzzle pieces in play. In December Jerry Williams announced his retirement after leading the school for four-and-a-half-years. Even though he is no longer with the district, his leadership was an important part of this puzzle.
Williams came to the district during a tough time following Michael McInnis as superintendent, who served from 2015 to 2019. I don’t mind saying it, those years were tough for the district under McInnis’ leadership. More emphasis was placed on diagnostics to measure students’ performance than teacher instruction, there was a void in leadership from the superintendent’s office and some great teachers left Water Valley for better educational environments.
Williams helped guide the district from a D-rating to a B-rating as he supported the teachers, rebuilding trust that had eroded. He also did a great job on infrastructure improvements as almost 12 million dollars was invested in the district that came in two stages – a $6.5 bond issue and the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund following the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The schools look great, another important piece of this puzzle.
With Williams’ retirement, the school board appointed Drew Pitcock as superintendent. Drew is a hard worker, a servant-leader, who has a strong connection to the faculty. After serving nine years as high school principal, Pitcock’s institutional knowledge of the district’s inner-workings is unrivaled since Sammy Higdon was hired as superintendent.
Drew weathered those tough years from 2015 to 2019 as principal of Water Valley High School and persevered. The high school’s state test scores helped carry DES, propelling the district rating to an overall B-rating.
As Drew was moved up to superintendent, the school board had to find his replacement for a high school principal. Dr. Vickie Person was the right person for a the job. As a former teacher at DES, Dr. Person emerged as a leader during the rocky years at the elementary school and as a life-long Water Vallian, she has a deep connection to students.
The final piece of the puzzle, and I would argue the most important, was hiring Lee Gray as DES principal. A hire with Water Valley roots, he has a quiet way (at least looking in from the outside) of leading that has earned strong respect from his faculty in a few months.
In closing, I will share input from school board member Tonya Eubanks.
“All I hear are great things about those two people sitting back there,” Eubanks said during last week’s school board meeting as she pointed to the principals. “And also Mr. Pitcock. I get lots of positive feedback from the community, parents, staff – everybody.”
Like Tonya, I believe the best days are ahead for the Water Valley School District.
