GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Guilford County Schools new superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley said she's excited to lead the district in her hometown.
"Guilford County Schools has always been a special place for me," Oakley said. "I decided to raise my family here, I committed my career to here and my two children are students in Guilford County Schools, so it is exciting, but I believe in our community and that’s why I’m excited to be the next superintendent."
Oakley was born and raised in Greensboro and attended Guilford County public schools from kindergarten through high school.
"School was my happy place and it was filled with hope and promise and so it doesn’t surprise me at all that I’ve stayed and then I just continue to be in leadership positions," said Oakley. "I think the power of public education is something that we should be proud of and it’s what’s going to lead our community forward”
Former GCS Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras announced in January she would step down as superintendent to pursue a new role.
Contreras will be CEO of nonprofit group The Innovation Project. She was appointed superintendent in 2016.
In August, Oakley was sworn in as is the first GCS superintendent to be from Guilford County.
"This community comes and rallies behind our students, our families, our parents, our teachers and our staff members and I just couldn’t think of a better place to raise my own children or to pursue my own career," said Oakley.
Oakley began her career in education as a teacher at Frazier Elementary School.
"I love teaching," Oakley said. "I thought I would always stay in the classroom. What I can say though is that I’ve always believed deeply in the power of public education and what it has to offer for our community as we continue to move forward so it’s no surprise to me that I’ve stuck with the profession."
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As the COVID-19 pandemic caused many challenges for students, Oakley has a large task ahead when it comes to catching students up.
"My vision is that this is the best place in the whole state for us to grow and learn and work together," said Oakley. "Our community is uniquely well positioned with businesses moving in. You're seeing some initial learning gains but we have a lot of work left to do."
She believes the key to helping students with learning loss is meeting them where they are.
"If you think about remote learning, it did not impact any two students the same and we are going to have to get down to that specific skill level and catch students up," said Oakley. "We talked a lot about learning acceleration and not remediation and making sure that we are getting students access to grade level instruction but also filling in their individual skill gaps."
For Oakley, talking to the community is also an important goal. She said GCS plans to launch a series of community conversations to hear from people about the school district.
"I want to hear from teachers and staff members, community members, as many community members as we can, as we move forward. "I want to hear about their hopes and dreams for the future of Guilford County," Oakley said.