The Rowan County School District has a new superintendent. At the beginning of the month, Michael Rowe took the position vacated by John Maxey.
Rowe holds a background in education administration, formerly working as a principal in multiple districts before serving as Lincoln County Schools Superintendent for nearly seven years.
As facility construction and preparations for the upcoming school year continue, Rowe said he and other officials decided to push the start of the school year back by one week.
“Because we knew we were getting close. And what we know about our elementary teachers is, their classroom is their Taj Mahal and they need to decorate, we need to give them time to be decorating,” said Rowe. “So, when we extended that, it wasn’t for our construction workers, to give them more time. It was, we knew this was going to be a short turn-around and we want teachers to be comfortable in their classrooms.”
Rowan County Schools will begin the academic year on August 24. The new Superintendent said he plans to use his first year in Morehead to observe how the schools function and plan for the future of the district. Part of that observation will include feedback from school teachers and staff.
“I am going to develop a parent advisory council. I’m going to do a certified advisory council and a classified advisory council. And I’ll be meeting with them quarterly and I want their input on what’s going good an what’s going bad. And I’m hoping that dialogue will lead us to make decisions best for kids,” said Rowe.
The new Rowan Superintendent said it will be up to the principals of each school to decide who among their teachers and staff will represent the school in the advisory group. Rowe said in his previous experience, the presence of advisory boards helped bridge divides between teachers and other school employees.
