“He’s not in. He is visiting a classroom at one of the schools.” – Bobby Mullins, in response to what the news story of his life’s headline would say
One Christmas during winter break Robert Mullins’ sophomore year in college, he did some substitute teaching and loved it. When he returned to college, he changed his major to education. He has now served in education professionally for 36 years and has been a superintendent for the past four years in Crockett County. He shared with me some of the things that inspire him in all areas of his life, “Outside of my relationship with God, Christ, and my wife, it would be the teachers of our school district. The effort shown for the care of their students and the constant work to help their students be successful is inspiring.”
A few of the things Mr. Mullins is particularly excited about that are going on in his district right now –
At the elementary level, one of our schools is a member of ‘No Excuses University.’ NEU is a network of schools that work together to promote college readiness for all. NEU has a philosophy that encourages schools to focus not on programs but instead on the creation of six exceptional systems. Those systems are:culture of universal achievement, collaboration, standards alignment, assessment, data management, and interventions. Maury City Elementary School has been a member for two years. Our two other elementary schools are applying this year. The staff at Crockett County High School has collaborated in developing a RTI program for their students. The teamwork displayed in data analysis and scheduling interventions has been impressive. The staff at Crockett County Middle School is collaborating in developing common assessments. This work has been challenging but it has encouraged our teachers to work together.
Mr. Mullins thinks highly of the teachers in his school system. In fact, he mentioned that the most rewarding part of his job “are the smiles on the faces of the students and teachers when they are successful. Mr. Mullins shared a time when he saw a student and teacher overcome that stayed with him, stating, “[He] watched a teacher become the student and the student become the teacher. A teacher was having some difficulty with technology and the student helped the teacher. That teacher then asked the student to stay to help her learn more.” In fact, one of Mr. Mullins favorite thing about visiting with the students in his school system are when he sits down and they teach him about what they are learning that day.
Mr. Mullins’ favorite subject when he was a student was American History. “Mr. Bill McPeak could make the classroom come to life and you felt you were in the middle of a battlefield or in the middle of the roaring 20’s.” It is no surprise then when I asked Mr. Mullins of a place he would like to visit someday that he stated, “Washington, D.C. I would love to spend some time visiting the history of our country.”
When Mr. Mullins does have time to relax from his busy schedule he enjoys “reading about the education challenges/successes of other school districts and walking.”
Mr. Robert Mullins, 2015 TOSS Legislative and Learning Conference
