Roanoke City Schools have announced a new superintendent who comes to the area from the 25th largest school district in the country. WFIR’s Ian Price has more on Verletta White:
In between all-day meetings with city officials after being announced as the new Roanoke City Public Schools superintendent – as of July 1st, Verletta White tells WFIR that student, teacher and staff safety is her top priority if and when students return to the classroom this fall. This is personal as well for White, who is relocating from the Baltimore area – she lost her brother-in-law to the coronavirus.
NEWS RELEASE: ROANOKE, VA – May 26, 2020: Today, at their monthly meeting, the Roanoke City School Board appointed Verletta White as the incoming Superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. This announcement closes out a nine-month process that included soliciting feedback from the community on the background, experience, interpersonal skills and attributes they wanted in a new superintendent, conducting a national search to find the ideal candidate, and ultimately selecting Ms. White.
“We believe we have hit the jackpot,” Board Chair Mark Cathey said. “Verletta White was an exceptionally strong candidate and we were delighted that she applied for this position. She has served as interim superintendent of a large and successful urban and suburban school district. She is a mother, a teacher, a principal, and an inspirational organizational leader. In her nearly 30-year career, she has continuously demonstrated excellence in curriculum, personnel, and fiscal management. And she came with glowing recommendations from a wide variety of stakeholders who all championed her work and her positive impact on children.”
Superintendent White is relocating to Roanoke from Baltimore, Maryland where she has served in a variety of progressive roles over the course of her career including teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, executive director of professional development, chief academic officer and interim superintendent of the 25th largest school district in the country. She will begin her term on July 1, 2020, replacing Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop who has held that role for the last 13 years.
All community members are invited to begin learning more about Superintendent White by visiting the “Meet the new Superintendent” website.
“The Board would like thank our partners at McPherson & Jacobson, our Executive Search Firm, as well as every member of the community, most especially our teachers, administrators, parents and students, who took the time to participate in one of our 11 focus groups or complete an electronic survey. The input of hundreds of citizens helped inform, direct, and ultimately validate our selection process. Accordingly, we are all thrilled about this match,” Cathey added.
“I couldn’t be more excited to serve this beautiful community. I am excited to meet all of my new colleagues and to start partnering for the benefit of all of Roanoke City’s wonderful children,” incoming Superintendent White said.
