Normandy Superintendent of Schools Charles J. Pearson will retire at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, and Normandy Schools Collaborative will begin a search immediately for his successor.
Sara Foster, president of the Normandy Joint Executive Governing Board, said the district will hold a series of engagement sessions in the coming months to gain feedback regarding the search. The district’s next public meeting is scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Barack Obama School, 3883 Jennings Station Rd.
“It is very important to the board and district leadership that these processes start with hearing from our entire Normandy community, including students and families, teachers, community partners, and all district staff,” Foster, who is also a Normandy graduate, said in a statement.
Once a successor is chosen, Pearson may continue to serve the district in an advisory role.
Pearson came to district leadership from the board, to which he was appointed by the State Board of Education in 2014. He later served as interim superintendent and then was selected to serve on a permanent basis in 2015.
Under Pearson’s leadership, the district saw improvement in student academic scores and a decrease in out-of-school suspensions. In 2017, the State Board of Education unanimously voted to grant provisional accreditation to the district.
During his tenure, Normandy also reconfigured its elementary schools, moving from grades 1-6, to grades 1-8 or “EleMiddle” model. The district eliminated its middle school and in 2019 opened a new Early Learning Center for students in pre-school, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten.
Foster stated that Pearson “has been a stabilizing, yet visionary, force within and outside of the district” and “has established sound and achievable goals for us to work toward and has guided us through immense change.”
Foster, who is also an executive vice president with Commerce Bank, said that the district also will initiate an external review of the district’s schools and a strategic planning process led by Attuned Education Partners that will be implemented for the 2020-2021 school year.
“We will reach out to our stakeholders in a variety of ways to get their feedback on these critical decisions,” Foster stated.
Foster said the new superintendent will be a part of the initial stages of the strategic planning process and responsible for its implementation.
Meanwhile, the focus on academic achievement remains the top priority.
“In our buildings, teachers and staff will continue to work on raising student achievement, with the goal of every child at or above grade level by third grade,” Foster said. “The focus of the district will remain on effective instruction and improving student outcomes.”
Pearson expressed similar sentiments in an August 2017 column in The American that responded to the United the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“We are committed to creating a school system where all children have access to a quality education. And we are doing that, while the world they live in becomes more and more contentious each and every day. Yes, we recognize the impact of the environment on the lives of children,” Pearson wrote.
“We remain committed, however, to creating safe spaces for children to interact with caring adults — adults who are knowledgeable about their role in the district; adults who hold each other accountable to serving our students.”
The district’s next public meeting is scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Barack Obama School, 3883 Jennings Station Road. For more information, visit www.normandysc.org, and follow the district on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
