Board of Education Names Three Superintendent Finalists

At its December work session the Asheville City Board of Education announced the selection of three candidates for the position of Superintendent of Asheville City Schools. The Board received 40 applications by the deadline of September 30, and on November 13 and 14, eight candidates participated in initial interviews. The Board has selected three of those semi-finalists to publicly introduce to the school district and Asheville community. The candidates are Mr. Allen Johnson, Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart, and Dr. Donna Gutshall.

As part of the interviewing process, each of the three candidates meets with principals and administrators, visits several city schools, has an afternoon information session with teachers and staff, and is interviewed by the Board before the public. The Board met with Mr. Johnson on December 4 and Dr. Collins-Hart December 11, and will meet with Dr. Gutshall December 17.

The public session will be held from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Asheville City Schools boardroom at 85 Mountain Street.

The
Board of Education expects to name its choice for the new
Superintendent for Asheville City Schools in late December or in
January 2008. Profiles of the three finalists are below.

Mr. Allen Johnson

Mr.
Johnson has served as Interim Superintendent of Asheville City Schools
since July 2007. For four years before that he was Associate
Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for ACS. He served in
similar positions for Lee County Schools from 1998 to 2003, and prior
to that was principal at various Wilson County schools. Mr. Johnson
received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education from East
Carolina University; his dissertation to obtain his doctorate from that
institution is pending.

Mr.
Johnson’s most significant contributions in the educational field have
been in the area of improved student achievement. According to the
North Carolina Department of Instruction, student achievement scores
increased during Mr. Johnson’s tenure with both Asheville City Schools
and Lee County Schools. In his candidate’s statement Mr. Johnson
asserts that he “believes that it is important to lead, motivate, and
provide the tools necessary for staff and faculty to nurture and
challenge students to reach their potential in academic growth.”

Currently
serving as Past President of the North Carolina Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development, Mr. Johnson received the 2006
Outstanding Administrator in Gifted Education Award in North Carolina.
He has served as a board member of the North Carolina Public School
Forum and currently serves on the boards of the Education Coalition of
Buncombe County and KIDS Voting. He has been active with the
Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development National
Leadership Council, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Council on Accreditation and School Improvement Quality Assurance
Review Team, and the North Carolina WISE State Executive Steering
Committee.

Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart

Dr.
Nettie Collins-Hart most recently served as Superintendent for Bertie
County Schools. She has held numerous administrative positions with
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and school districts in Lawrence,
Kansas City, and Topeka, Kansas. Her primary focus has been curriculum
and instruction. Dr. Collins-Hart received her Bachelor’s degree from
UNC-Chapel Hill, two Master’s degrees from East Carolina University,
and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.

Dr.
Collins-Hart has worked to raise standards of classroom teaching, close
achievement gaps between various groups of students, and improve
curriculum development, alignment, and implementation. Her
administrative goals have been improving fiscal management and
accountability and reforming and restructuring High Schools and Middle
Schools. Dr. Collins-Hart believes that her successes in these areas
demonstrate her commitment not only to students, but also to the
processes that can demonstrate accountability and help secure support
for public education.

Dr.
Collins-Hart received the 2006 Superintendent of the Year award from
the American Cancer Society for the South Atlantic Region 4 and a
Leadership Award in 2005 from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro National
Alliance of Black School Educators. She was cited for her work in
closing the achievement gap and in equity education by author Glenn
Singleton in his 2005 book Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field
Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools. Dr. Collins-Hart has also been a
member of the North Carolina Association of Supervision and Curriculum
Development, the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the
Board of Directors of the Advancement Via Individual Determination
program.

Dr. Donna Gutshall

Dr.
Donna Gutshall, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction for Spartanburg
School District 6, has served Spartanburg School District 6 in various
administrative and teaching positions since 1993. Prior to 1993, she
served in Burlington City Schools (currently Alamance County Schools)
and Kinston City Schools (currently Lenoir County Schools) in North
Carolina. Dr. Gutshall earned her Bachelor’s degree from High Point
University, her Master’s from UNC-Greensboro, and a doctorate in
Education from South Carolina State University. She has been recognized
at the local, state, and national levels for her success in providing
students, teachers, administrators and communities with passion,
vision, and excitement for education.

Dr.
Gutshall and her schools have received a National Blue Ribbon Schools
of Excellence Award, a National Blue Ribbons Schools of Excellence
Award for Character Education, an Excellence of Education Award from
the Chamber of Commerce, and several “Teacher of the Year” awards. She
recently served as the chairperson for the Summer Leadership Conference
for the South Carolina Association of School Administrators and on the
Committee of that Association responsible for selecting national
principals and assistant principals of the year.