Five things to know about Akron Public Schools Interim Superintendent Mary Outley
Mary Outley took over as interim superintendent of Akron Public Schools last month after 32 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and administrator in the district. A graduate of Akron schools, she is the second Black woman to hold the job.
Outley is expected to serve in the interim role until the school board appoints a new superintendent. A search has not officially launched, but board leadership has said to expect someone in the job by August. Outley has not said if she will apply for the permanent job.
Here's five things to know about Outley:
Mary Outley is an Akron Public Schools graduate
Outley graduated in 1985 from Buchtel high school, and also attended Hyre Middle, West Junior High and Barber Elementary. She was originally assigned to attend Ellet high, but her three siblings had all graduated from Buchtel and she wanted to go there too, so she asked the principal if she could enroll. He said yes, and Outley calls herself the "first open-enrolled student of Akron Public Schools."
The new APS interim superintendent's parents instilled that education was 'paramount'
Outley's mother was a nurse and her father was a rubber worker. Outley said they both instilled in her and her siblings that education was "paramount" and wanted to see all four of their children graduated college, which they did. Outley has had and continues to have nieces and nephews enrolled in Akron schools.
She has moved up in Akron Public Schools over her 32-year tenure
Outley's first teaching job was at Erie Island Elementary School. She later moved to Perkins middle, teaching in the eighth grade, and then became assistant principal at Hyre Middle before becoming principal of Crouse Elementary in 2002. In 2004, she became the executive director of elementary education, a role she had until being named interim superintendent last month.
A chance encounter in high school led her to a career in education
Outley's first love was math, but she wasn't clicking with the idea of a career in accounting or bookkeeping. But after overhearing students outside of Crouse Elementary talking about how much they hated school, Outley was drawn to a career in education.
"Because I loved elementary school, and I could not imagine why these boys could hate school at such a young age," she said. "So right then, it was in my spirit to become a teacher, because I didn't want any elementary kids to hate school."
She works in the community through her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta
Outley is the president of the Akron alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority Outley said is "built on public service." The chapter holds events like candidate forums during election season and finance workshops for the community. She also enjoys interior decorating and event planning and is a lover of dogs.
Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 5 things to know about interim Akron Public Schools leader Mary Outley
