Hartselle superintendent candidates want to take district to new heights

Nov. 11—HARTSELLE — A Hartselle City Schools official said he would further and broaden the work he has done with the district over the last four years if hired as the new Hartselle superintendent, and a Madison County high school principal said he could transform Hartselle into the top school district in the state if given the same opportunity.

Sparkman High Principal Chris Shaw and Hartselle Director of Operations Rocky Smith were interviewed Wednesday by the Hartselle school board for the position that became vacant when former Superintendent Dee Dee Jones left in September. They are two of six finalists for the position of superintendent, and the final two were scheduled to be interviewed Thursday evening.

Shaw, 58, said learning loss resulting from pandemic-induced isolation is one of the biggest issues students currently face.

"There were so many different options (during the pandemic)," Shaw said. "Some teachers did hybrid learning, some did online. The biggest thing is getting back into that traditional routine as far as the day-to-day coming to school and taking tests."

The nationwide teacher shortage was an issue Shaw brought up a few times during the interview. He said one of his goals as superintendent would be to promote education as a career choice.

"Just getting them excited about going into the profession," Shaw said. "If not, we're going to continue with the shortage."

He said the shortage has especially affected math and special education, forcing an increased reliance by some districts on substitute teachers to fill the gap. Shaw said they should be properly trained before working with special needs students.

"We do that where I'm from. We provide training and professional development," Shaw said. "We have different types of subs; those who cover the regular classes and those that cover special education."

Shaw said he works with a group of educators at Sparkman High to help underprivileged students succeed and would also develop a similar plan in Hartselle.

"We have a committee and we develop a portfolio of that student's strengths and weaknesses and we come up with a plan of how to close that gap," Shaw said. "So if it's math, we'll give them an extra period of support. They'll take a math class and then a math support class."

Shaw said he was impressed with Hartselle's academic standing statewide and said he believes Hartselle has the potential to test higher than districts like Madison City Schools and Homewood City Schools.

"I think I can make Hartselle the best school system in the state of Alabama," Shaw said. "It has all the ingredients; it has the support of the mayor and the City Council and the school board and the community. I just want to be part of that."

Smith, 45, has worked in the Hartselle district for four years, serving as the principal of Hartselle Junior High for three of those years before becoming director of operations. He said coming out of the pandemic, it was important to teach or re-teach soft skills to students and to educate them on how to conduct themselves online.

"Everything is so media-driven and accessible that we have to do a good job of educating our students on how to manage information and social media," Smith said. "Teaching them how to treat people, because most of their interactions are digitally and we have to work on that face-to-face."

Smith said he wants to continue to learn more about the community and get to know students and their families outside a school setting.

"We approach things from an academic standpoint and we approach things from a personal standpoint," Smith said. "You can drill down from a data perspective and look at what the data is telling you and then you also look at social concerns in the community, whether it be well-being concerns and how you support those students."

Smith said if hired as superintendent, he will work to maintain the academic progress of Hartselle City Schools.

"I want to continue the tradition of excellence we've had here, and the role I'll have coming in will be to build the trust and relationships and evaluate the pieces we have in place to see how we can support our staff to grow in the future."

Smith told the school board he believes the instructional plan for Hartselle City Schools should be data driven and should constantly monitor patterns in students' learning.

"Being the principal of the junior high, one of the benefits of being there was being between elementary and high school," Smith said. "Being able to communicate and collaborate with both sides there. Most recently, we've put instructional partners in our secondary schools and I've brought in a consultant to set up instructional coaching programs in K through 12."

Arab City Schools Superintendent Johnny Berry and Florence Middle School Principal Kevin Wieseman were interviewed for the superintendent's position Monday. The final two candidates, James Clemens High Principal Brian Clayton and Hartselle High Principal Brad Cooper, were scheduled to be interviewed Thursday evening.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.