3 Johnsonville schools superintendent finalists named

Two school superintendents and a chief student services director have been named finalists for Florence School District 5’s superintendent position.

Dr. F. Jane Cobia, superintendent of Sylacauga City Schools in Sylacauga, Ala.; Dr. D. John Morris, chief student services director at Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C.; and Fay Sprouse, superintendent of Greenwood 51 School District in Ware Shoals, are finalists for the Johnsonville-based school district.

Thirty-one applications were received by the South Carolina School Boards Association — the organization hired to conduct the search — between Jan. 1 to March 1.

The board of trustees identified 10 candidates as semi-finalists March 5.

Interviews for those candidates began Monday at the district office and concluded Wednesday.

Board Chairman Louis B. Hooks said the board is very pleased with the highly-qualified candidates and is “impressed by each candidate’s record of success and the caliber of their experience and skills.”

When selecting finalists, the board made sure to look for the qualities and characteristics identified by parents, community leaders, and educators participating in a series of focus group discussions conducted in February by School Boards Association, according to a press release issued by the association.

“I’m very honored to be on a school board that has the children of Florence School District 5 at heart,” Hooks said. “Through all of this process, thus far, the main focus of these board members have been what’s best for our kids, teachers, principals and administration.

“We are clearly doing a lot of things right in our schools and the board wants a superintendent who (can) see what is good and works, then helps us get to that next level,” he said.

The board began its search for a new superintendent after Dr. Dale Strickland announced he would retire after 11 years of service in the district.

The new superintendent would begin his or her duties July 1.

The district will schedule a series of public events during the week of April 6, for parents, community leaders, faculty, and other district employees to meet each finalist and allow the candidates to become more familiar with the community and the schools.

From 1984 to 1994, Sprouse was a teacher at Ware Shoals Primary and Elementary schools. In 1994, she became the director of the Even Start program in Abbeville County School District 60. She returned to Ware Shoals Primary as the school’s principal in 1995, before becoming superintendent of Greenwood School District 51 in 2001.

Sprouse graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Erskine College in 1984. She went on to earn a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Furman University in 1992. She attended the School Leadership Executive Institute in 2002 and is a candidate for a doctorate degree in educational leadership from Clemson University.

Cobia has been an instructor at Auburn University, an education specialist and consultant with the Alabama State Department of Education, director of instruction and acting superintendent at Pell City School System in Alabama before serving in her current position in 2004.

Cobia attended Jacksonville State University where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in home economics education in 1978. She later received a master’s degree in home economics education and a vocational education administrative certification from the University of Alabama in 1980 and a Doctor of Education from the same university in 1993.

Morris graduated with a bachelor’s degree in special education in 1974, a master’s degree in education/teaching of reading in 1977, an Education Specialist degree in educational leadership in 1983 and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership in 1987, all from Western Michigan University.

Morris began his educational career as a teacher at Berrien County Intermediate Schools in Berrien Center, Mich., in 1974. He served in several positions including a principal, assistant superintendent of administrative services and superintendent of New Hanover County Schools in Wilmington, N.C., before joining Guilford County Schools in 2007.

On the Web

Florence School District 5, http://www.flo5.k12.sc.us