Dr. Walter “Rick” Clemons, Superintendent of Gloucester County Public Schools, was named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents Annual Awards Luncheon held Monday in Roanoke.
Clemons was selected for this honor by the presidents of the Virginia Board of Education, the Virginia Education Association, the Virginia Parent and Teacher Association, the Virginia School Boards Association, the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, and the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, with support from the president, president-elect and secretary/treasurer of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
A release from the Virginia Association of School Superintendents cited Clemons’s leadership in addressing the challenges his school division faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as an example for other school divisions in the state. “He skillfully balanced the tension in his community between those with concerns for the learning and social needs of Gloucester’s students, and those with concerns for the health and safety of the students, staff and the community at-large,” the release stated. Gloucester was one of the first school divisions in the region to return to in-person learning through a phased-in hybrid approach, combining both virtual and in-person learning.
The VASS release touted Clemons’s success in de-escalating tensions “around divisive issues that have challenged many communities by emphasizing doing what is best for students, being transparent about the division’s curriculum and teaching resources, and providing a public forum for community members to express their opinions.”
The publication of library resources on the division’s website as well as the organization of a town hall meeting last summer were two examples cited by VASS of strategies initiated by Gloucester County Public Schools under his leadership to reduce local anxieties over potentially divisive issues.
In presenting Clemons with the award, VASS president Zeb Talley said, “Rick has done an outstanding job representing all Virginia educators as a staunch advocate for the state’s public school students. He is a skillful leader who stands firm in doing what is best for students while providing everyone in his community the opportunity to share their opinions about what quality public education means.”
Clemons started his administrative career in 1996 as an assistant middle school principal in Newport News, followed by working as an assistant high school principal in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and then serving five years as a high school principal in Franklin City.
He continued in Franklin City as the school division’s assistant superintendent before accepting his first superintendent position in Northampton County Public Schools for three years. He has been the division superintendent for GCPS for the past eight years.
As Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year, Clemons is now eligible for the National Superintendent of the Year Award which will be presented in February 2023 in San Antonio, Texas, by the American Association of School Superintendents.