Fuller off to a good start

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 8, 2008

It appears first-year Shelby County School Superintendent Randy Fuller is carrying on the tradition of dedication to his job and the students of Shelby County, much like his predecessor Evan Major.

Fuller was recently evaluated by the Shelby County Board of Education and scored with ratings from satisfactory to excellent, while getting the nod for having accomplished incentive goals.

Fuller worked with the schools to establish a systematic approach toward improving all of Shelby County&8217;s schools so that they meet Annual Yearly Progress standards and other state and federal requirements. He also helped to create leadership teams at each school, completed a comprehensive study of growth projections and

produced assessments of test scores to decide which programs might improve the reading skills of students. Finally, he made recommendations for competitive salaries and more desirable working conditions.

The bottom line for any school superintendent is that he provided the best learning environment for the students, the best programs available to help those students meet their full potential and prepare dthem for greater accomplishments ahead.

Board member David Nichols gave Fuller all excellent ratings, but even his lowest rating from member Steve Martin included mostly satisfactory or high quality ratings.

Major said his philosophy has been, &8220;Always do what&8217;s best for the children and help them to be academically successful.&8221;

When elected to replace Major, Fuller said, &8220;But they [voters] knew I would come in and bring fresh ideas and a creative approach and do what is best for the children of Shelby County.&8221;

We feel this is not a bad start for the new superintendent.