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Holly McGee, superintendent candidate, emphasizes school turnarounds and wraparound services in prerecorded message to Covington board
Summary
In a prerecorded video to the Covington Community School Corp board, Holly McGee highlighted 25 years in education, credited her leadership with turning around two low-performing schools and prioritized on-site health services, mental-health counseling and trauma-informed supports if hired.
Holly McGee submitted a prerecorded video to the Covington Community School Corp board outlining her experience and priorities as a candidate for superintendent.
"I bring 25 years of public education experience to the job," McGee said, describing work as a classroom teacher, special-education instructor, assistant principal and principal. She said her first principalship was at Weiss Community School, which she described as among the lowest-ranked schools in Florida when she arrived; she said the campus became trauma-responsive and a community partnership school and that its school grade improved to a C during her four-year tenure. McGee said Weiss established an on-site pediatric clinic so students and families could access free medical care.
McGee said the Weiss model included adult education and family supports: GED and GED-prep classes, financial-management courses, a parent resource room with computer access, and a free after-school program staffed in part by university education students that provided academic help and a hot dinner each night. "Education truly is the change factor for so many families and children," she said.
She said the school employed two full-time licensed mental-health counselors, partnered with a battered-women's shelter and other housing projects to keep families housed, and ran enrichment programs such as dance, coding and sports. McGee also described a program that provided annual eye exams and free prescription glasses when needed.
McGee said she later served as principal of McArthur Elementary School, where she led efforts that she said raised the school from a C to an A in three years through instructional leadership and systematic supports. She is finishing a doctorate in organizational leadership, studying teacher burnout and trauma-informed care.
On personal logistics, McGee said she is currently principal in Pensacola, Florida, that her husband is a middle school teacher, and that the family expects to move to Covington in June with McGee prepared to begin work in July. "I'm truly filled with excitement and hope on what we can do together," she said.
The video was a candidate presentation; the board's next steps or any vote on hiring were not recorded in the transcript.
