T
here is no better predictor of suc- cessful leadership than serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Just ask Dr. Curtis Jones, Jr., or the employees
of Georgia’s Bibb County School District. It says enough that Jones was recently named the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year. The award, which is now in its 32nd year, is presented annually at the National Conference on Educa- tion, co-sponsored by First Student and VALIC, and hosted by AASA: The Superintendents Asso- ciation. But the award only scratches the surface. “This award shows that leadership matters,”
said Jones after his name was called during an opening general session on Feb. 14 at the Los An- geles Convention Center. “I am so humbled. For me, it means that our district is doing the right work. It means that our teachers [and] our princi- pals have worked hard and are being recognized, not only at the state level, but also nationally.” Known affectionately around the greater Macon
area as “Colonel Doc,” Jones arrived on the scene four years ago this month with a pedigree that commanded attention. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, including being sta- tioned in Germany and working at the Pentagon. Following his retirement in 1997 as a lieutenant
colonel, he returned to education. Previously during his military career, Jones taught Senior ROTC at Albany State College in southern Geor- gia. Jones returned to his roots, joining Griffin High School, which is located about 40 miles south of Atlanta, as the senior Army instructor for the Junior ROTC program—one of the largest
and most reputable in the state. “I really thought I was going to do that for
20 years, but the high school principal and the superintendent had an initiative to improve SAT scores. So, they took a group of us to a workshop, to come back and help them do it. When I came back, I was the one at the high school, so I put to- gether a plan, [then] presented it to the principal and superintendent. They liked it, [so] they said implement it. We did and our scores went up.” The superintendent told Jones that his career was in school administration. Jones obtained a specialist degree in educational leadership from Lincoln Memorial University in Tennes- see, and shortly thereafter was named principal at Griffin High. “As I was going through the four years as the
high school principal, the superintendent told me about a program that Georgia offered called the ‘superintendent professional development pro- gram.’ He said he wanted to nominate me for that program,” said Jones. However, “That was a two-year program, and
while I was in the program, it was a lot of people like me trying to decide if they wanted to be- come superintendents, or something else. And one individual in there said, ‘I’m working on my doctorate,’ and I said, ‘That’s too much stuff to do. You’re doing this, doing your work.’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m doing it, and you can, too.’” In 2007, he finished his doctoral work at Nova
Southeastern University in Florida. To Dr. Jones, leadership means earning the
trust of others. That’s a main tenet the Army teaches all of its cadets. “They look for a great
Bibb County School District at a Glance
• Service Area: 255 square miles • Number of School Buses in Fleet: 200
• Students Transported One-Way, Daily: 10,000 registered; 15,000 eligible
• School Bus Drivers: 200
• Transportation Facility Size: Shop bays - 13,380 sq. feet Office - 3,979 sq. feet
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