Our first Superintendent Spotlight of 2019 is Dr. Donna Wright of Wilson County Schools. She has served as the superintendent in her district for 5 years.
Wilson County’s "Name, Strength, and Need" focus as a platform to differentiate learning for students has really taken, as teachers have moved to a personalized concept of knowing every student, identifying strengths, and determining their need(s). Dr. Wright’s charge is for every teacher to KNOW each student and identify what they do well before they ever address their needs.
Wilson County is in the second year of bringing Curriculum and Instructional Technology together as a collective partnership. Curriculum leaders work with instructional technology, challenging teachers to share lesson plans and best practices. They now have a robust repository which houses teacher lessons accessible by all educators. During the summer of 2018, their Science Coordinator teamed with master science teachers and instructional technology to build master science courses in their learning management system. Master Science teachers were trained by IT to identify copyright restriction, use a learning management system, and successfully collect and house digital resources enhancing instruction. Currently, Wilson County K-12 teachers use the master courses to guide learning in their classroom. They are now in the midst of creating Master Courses for K-12 Social Studies. Both groups recognize the positive impact of blending technological resources with academic instruction to create a viable tool for teachers. The collaborative effort has supported the creation of a district-wide benchmarking process using Google Classroom. They have also made their instructional resources available to other districts, accessing through their LMS.
FUN FACT: Dr. Wright taught country music star KENNY CHESNEY! Can’t wait to hear stories about that.
