"Trust the process." In general terms, that's how superintendent, Dr. Regina Thompson, led the school district to maintain its 'C' grade, despite multiple challenges they faced last year. Ongoing teacher vacancies at Glen Oaks Elementary School, student transiency often common in urban districts, and an interim principal at the high school -- all circumstances that could have become setbacks in the 2018-2019 school year. Yet, according to Dr. Thompson, both the District and the students it serves rose to the challenges and moved forward.
Friday morning, the Alabama Department of Education announced Fairfield City Schools System earned an overall score of 75 on the Alabama State Department of Education 2018-2019 report card. The District interprets that as progress and leaders are proud of it. “Overall, we’re excited as a District. We are moving forward,” says Thompson. “The key is to stay focused on student needs and overall achievement in the District.”
Fairfield City Schools serves roughly 17-hundred students, many of whom are from low income families, and work all the harder to achieve academic success.
“I always tell my team to trust the process of school improvement,” she says. “It was about building trust. People had to learn to trust each other and trust the leadership.” Thompson credits the success to new behavior plans for students, building relationships with parents, and adding tools for academic improvement. She says the District is only going up!