Portsmouth Chief Schools Officer to become superintendent in Goochland County
Portsmouth Public School’s Chief Schools Officer Michael Cromartie will head to Goochland County to lead its public school division, a bittersweet change for him as he has spent his career in the Hampton Roads region.
“I have really enjoyed working with my colleagues here in Portsmouth Public Schools,” Cromartie said. “To me, they are a top rate group of professional. They genuinely care about kids, and it’s been my joy helping leaders be better leaders, helping principals be better leaders of their school for the past seven years.”
The Goochland County Public School Board unanimously selected Cromartie as the division’s superintendent in a special meeting last week, according to a press release.
Cromartie said he will leave Portsmouth at the end of the month, and he is expecting to do some work in Goochland as the division gets ready for the new school year, but his contract does not start until Aug. 7.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Cromartie to Goochland and firmly believe he is the right person to lead this division for years to come,” Goochland board chair Sandra Barefoot-Reid said in a press release.
Cromartie has served as chief schools officer for about six years. Before that, he was director of school programs for a year. His career in education started in 1996 as an English teacher in Newport News.
In his seven years in Portsmouth, he said one of his biggest achievements was building relationships with local law enforcement and others who help promote school safety. He said he is “really proud of the strides” made in this regard, as the division has acquired weapons detection systems for its secondary schools.
Cromartie said he is looking forward to starting in Goochland County soon, saying that is will not just be a change for his career but “a change of lifestyle.” The school division is smaller than Portsmouth, located just outside Richmond. The new size, he said, could be a “welcome change of pace.”
He added that the division has a history of success, such as the number of its graduates leaving high school with associate degrees as well.
“I’m excited to go and help them advance that success,” he said.
A Portsmouth Public Schools spokesperson said the division will search for Cromartie’s replacement.
Kelsey Kendall, kelsey.kendall@virginiamedia.com
