The Superintendents’ Council of the North East Regional Education Service Alliance unanimously selected Dr. Don Phipps on May 20 as their nominee for Superintendent of the Year from North Carolina’s Region 1.

The nomination was due to Phipps’ outstanding educational leadership in Beaufort County, citing a variety of initiatives aimed at raising achievement for all students, said NERESA Director Dr. Leon Holleman in a BCS press release.

“His leadership reaches beyond his district and is important to every county in our state,” Holleman said. “He serves tirelessly on multiple task force committees for the Department of Public Education and the state level Superintendents Council. He is also committed to bringing the message of public schools to elected officials across the state. It is for these and many other reasons that Dr. Phipps has been recognized by his peers.”

Phipps serves on the Executive Board of the North Carolina School Superintendents Association and president of RESA Region 1, he said. Two years ago, he presented to a joint group of legislators about the Read to Achieve process, explaining concerns that were being voiced from county educators, and he was also part of the team that developed the Blueprint for Education document that superintendents released earlier this year. He worked with New Schools in Raleigh to help plan and implement initiatives to offer local students more choices, represented superintendents on several occasions, meeting with the General Assembly leadership on educational issues and coordinated work on a graduation project that would focus students on their academic work and careers from middle school through graduation.

“I am honored beyond words to have been selected by my peers to represent them and our RESA at the state level,” Phipps said. “I have witnessed their work and lifelong dedication to education and to be their choice is humbling and extraordinary. I hope that I represent BCS and our county well in my day-to-day work, and this is a great opportunity to highlight some of the great work being done in our county at the state level.”

Phipps said he believes public schools are a key to society’s success and believes the success of public schools will be influenced by the county school system’s ability to partner with other agencies, organizations and people to meet goals.

“While we stop from time to time to celebrate accomplishments, we must also look ahead and face the challenges that exist and find ways to transform those challenges into opportunities for improvement,” Phipps said. “I hope that elected officials share my value of public schools and will work with us to help create the best public education system in the country.”

Some of the success BCS has realized in recent years is attributed to many great individuals working collectively for the good of the system, as well as a supportive community that has embraced the county’s work and engaged with it, Phipps said. The success of the county school system has been a mix of administration and teachers getting to know its students better in order to respond and provide meaningful, rigorous learning activities, as well as remediation when needed. The county has also expanded its offerings to students through listening to students, teachers, parents, employers and other members of the community to address areas of strengths and needs in the system, Phipps said.

Phipps said through collaborative partnerships with other organizations and with active grant writing, the system has been able to match its vision with those who can help financially, and, as a result, the county has more offerings for students that allow them to pursue education and training in their chosen field while also providing a solid foundation. The county has also committed itself to students who wish to go into the workforce after school, as well as those seeking to attend four-year universities and all in between. It has designed a dual enrollment program for students to earn college credit while in high school, implemented a Career Academy with a focus on specialized training programs and provided information sessions for students and parents about college and university offerings, as well as scholarship guidance, Phipps said.

In regard to Phipps nomination, support also came in from the NC Department of Public Instruction, according to the release.  His nomination places him in the running for the 2016 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year as well as the American Association of School Administrator’s (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year.

“Since 2010, Dr. Phipps has led efforts to increase opportunities for students through early literacy programs, dual credit offerings, career academies, 1:1 and other innovative initiatives. Thanks in part to his leadership, Beaufort County Schools’ graduation rate has significantly improved from 71 to 80.1 percent,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson. “I applaud Dr. Phipps for his unwavering commitment to student success and congratulate him on being selected as the Northeast Regional Education Service Alliance 2015 Superintendent of the Year.”

Chairman of the Beaufort County Board of Education Terry Williams commented on Phipps’ nomination.

“Dr. Phipps being selected Superintendent of the Year in the NERESA comes as no surprise to those who work with him at the county level,” explained Terry Williams, Chairman of the Beaufort County Board of Education. “Dr. Phipps has a strong vision of where he wants to help take our district. He never focuses on why we cannot achieve a goal but looks for every way possible to make it a reality. This is an important characteristic for a leader during such challenging economic times. We are very proud of our superintendent.”