New superintendent Dr. Demond Means shakes hands during his formal hiring on May 5. Means first met with the community April 3 at Whitehead Road Elementary School. He was met with strong community support and signed a three-year contract with the school district. “The Board of Education is very pleased to officially announce Dr. Demond Means as the next superintendent of the Clarke County School District,” Clarke County School District Board of Education President Charles Worthy said. “Dr. Means has a track record as a visionary leader, as well as being an innovative and creative leader. I cannot imagine a more ideal incoming superintendent for the Clarke County School District and the Athens community.” Photo by Ana Aldridge
By COLES EHLERS – Staff Writer
Dr. Demond Means was recently appointed as the Clarke County School District’s new superintendent and will officially begin the position on July 10. Means is currently the superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District in southeast Wisconsin.
Dr. Demond Means was unanimously approved by the Clarke County Board of Education as the new superintendent of the Clarke County School District with a three-year contract to begin on July 10.
“Dr. Means has a track record as a visionary leader, as well as being an innovative and creative leader,“ CCSD Board of Education President Charles Worthy said in a press release. “I cannot imagine a more ideal incoming superintendent for the Clarke County School District and the Athens community.”
Means is currently serving as the superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District in southeast Wisconsin, which has been recognized as the best K-12 school district with an enrollment of 3,000 or more in Wisconsin for three-consecutive years.
“I am excited to continue the trajectory the Clarke County School District has set in being a national leader in closing achievement gaps,” Means said in a press release. “I also look forward to rallying around the shared values of the Board of Education, community members, educators, parents and students in order to take the school district to new heights in the near future.”
Clarke Central High School English department teacher Ginger Lehman attended a community forum to introduce Means, which was sponsored by the CCBOE, on April 3 and feels optimistic about the hiring.
“I hope that he gets a lot of input from teachers, since he is coming from out of the district and I think teachers have the best insight into what is going on in our district, what challenges we face, and what we need in order to improve,” Lehmann said.
While adults in the district may be aware of the shift in leadership, many CCHS students, like sophomore Jayden Johnson are unaware of the change. Johnson, however, does have expectations for a superintendent.
“(I look) to see if he has the best interests of our school district in mind, to see if he cares about our education,” Johnson said. “I hope he visits the schools and sees how students interact with each other and prepare for tests and college.”
