Superintendent, Gwinnett County Public Schools

About Us

Gwinnett County is one of America’s fastest-growing counties and one of the nation’s most diverse. The county boasts the tagline, “Vibrantly Connected,” and celebrates its dynamic, diverse community, which represents a blend of generations, professions, cultures, backgrounds, and skills. Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is the largest public school district in Georgia, one of the  largest districts in the United States, and the largest employer in the county. With a vision to become a system of world-class schools and a mission to pursue excellence for each student, GCPS educates approximately 178,000 students in over 140 schools. The district is consistently recognized for its excellence in educational opportunities and its award-winning reputation as the best place to work. 

The district is guided by the following Core Beliefs:

• Students are the Center of Every Decision 
• Equity Benefits All 
• Lifelong Learning Is Essential 
• Learning Should Reflect and Respect Every Student 
• Excellence Is for Everyone 
• Belonging Builds Strong Schools and Strong Communities 
• Collaboration Drives Our Success 

About the Superintendent Role

The district is seeking a Superintendent with the vision, integrity, transparency, and courage to ensure that every child in our district has the opportunity to succeed. The Superintendent will bravely address equity by closing achievement gaps and eliminating disparities and taking bold actions to ensure access, opportunities, and resources are available for each and every student to thrive. The Superintendent will ensure world-class instruction and global competitiveness by researching global trends and applying Artificial Intelligence and other innovations to meet the ever-evolving needs of a highly competitive global education system. Reporting to the five-member Board of Education, the Superintendent will build on the successes of GCPS and ensure the school system remains focused on teaching and learning. Educating all students to high standards is paramount while unifying the community on the common purpose of ensuring belonging and inclusion for all students to achieve success.  The Superintendent will translate the priorities of the strategic plan with clarity, confidence, and effective integrated communications at every level of the school system. The Superintendent will build and sustain a committed and talented leadership team, drive continuous quality improvement, and oversee the day-to-day business of the district with transparency, truth, and accountability.

What You’ll Do (“Key Responsibilities”)

Ensure that every student feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential

• Drive implementation of coherent, research-based instructional practices and equitable access to rigorous, culturally relevant coursework, programs, pathways and athletics for all learners, including students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and gifted students.
• Continue to build on the district’s foundation in social-emotional learning and restorative practices, and maintain clear and consistent expectations in a safe, culturally responsive, and inclusive environment.  
• Analyze and transparently share disaggregated data to drive targeted interventions and address achievement and opportunity gaps among students with disabilities, multilingual learners, Black, Latine, Asian, and white students.
• Raise literacy rates, especially in our early grades, since this is a significant growth area for the district. 
• Provide teachers the support, clarity, and training that they need in order to effectively address discipline in their classrooms, eliminating disparities in the way students are disciplined, while also protecting safety and high expectations in every classroom.

Cultivate a culture of excellence, celebrating high achievement and continuous improvement

• Foster a growth mindset organization-wide where equity, inclusion, and excellence are the standard, and teaching and learning remain the core focus of all decisions.
• Track metrics to monitor progress transparently and make informed corrections and adjustments in order to improve outcomes across all schools. 
• Uphold transparent systems and structures of accountability to allow for autonomy, if earned, at the school level and direct support and guidance, if needed, at the school level, recognizing that one-size fits all may not work in all schools/clusters.
• Elevate best practices in the district and enable sharing of effective strategies and innovations that are working at the school or cluster level. 

Steward financial resources toward equity and sustainability

• Provide strategic oversight of the district's $3.4B budget with transparency and fiscal responsibility, ensuring that resource allocations and district spending patterns are equitable, prioritized to support student success and eliminate budget disparities that negatively impact students of color, low-income students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.
• Lead long-term financial planning that anticipates enrollment trends, demographic shifts, and emerging needs while maintaining the district's strong fiscal position and community confidence.
• Prioritize competitive compensation for educators, and support personnel, such as school nutrition staff, bus managers, custodians, and paraprofessionals, recognizing that attracting and retaining excellent people is essential to maintaining GCPS's position as the best place to work in education.
• Execute a comprehensive facilities and technology plan that modernizes schools, relieves overcrowding, and ensures equitable access to high-quality learning environments and instructional resources. 

Support, develop, retain a strong leadership team to deliver on the district’s vision and mission

• Cultivate a high-performance culture by investing in professional learning and leadership development pathways that cultivate internal talent and support competitive recruitment.
• Empower leaders to make decisions on behalf of students first and hold them accountable to high standards with clear expectations.
• Provide direct and responsive leadership, supervision, feedback and coaching to the executive cabinet. 

Partner with the Board and our stakeholders to guide and accelerate the work of the district

• Work effectively with the Board of Education, shaping and supporting board unity and governance, and providing the information and analysis needed on key initiatives in order to make sound decisions and govern effectively.
• Use innovative approaches to engage authentically with diverse families, students, educators, business leaders, and community stakeholders across racial, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, in order to expand trust, partnership, and shared ownership of the district's success.
• Honor the deep pride and loyalty that families and staff have for GCPS, their schools and clusters, while working to ensure that excellence and opportunity is not limited by geography within the county. 
• Safeguard structures for meaningful two-way communication and community participation in decision-making and keep the community informed about district priorities, decisions, and progress.
• Collaborate with business, philanthropy, nonprofit, and community  leadership, while maintaining the independence of the school system and ensuring that district priorities remain focused on students. 

Requirements

Skill You’ll Need to be Successful (“Core Competencies”)

Student-Centered Decision Making

• Consistently centers decisions around what is best for students’ learning and well-being. 
• Exhibits outstanding analytical and critical thinking skills, seeking and analyzing multiple forms of student data (e.g., academic, behavioral, attendance, climate) to identify patterns and root causes affecting student outcomes. .
• Analyzes the conditions for change and articulates the vision for change to inspire and create ownership, buy-in, and accountability. 
• Navigates uncertainty and effectively manages complex challenges as they occur; able to balance urgency with the ability to bring others along towards solutions. 
• Exhibits a strong focus on goals, accountability, and results; set clear metrics for success.
• Prioritizes the most urgent decisions and willingly makes difficult decisions – and says no – when necessary in the best interest of students.

Strong and Clear Communication

• Maintains high visibility and accessibility at all levels in the district, creating regular opportunities for two-way dialogue, listening deeply to understand different perspectives.
• Communicates clearly, authentically and transparently, tailoring messages for each audience, context, and mode of communication.
• Connects effectively with diverse audiences including students, families, staff, the Board and stakeholders across the county.
• Navigates difficult conversations with honesty and empathy, pushing back thoughtfully when needed to keep the organization focused on core beliefs and strategic priorities in service of student success.
• Responds to feedback and concerns in a timely and empathetic manner. Communicates clearly how stakeholder input is used and consulted in decision making.

Ethical Leadership

• Holds self and others accountable for high standards of performance, transparency, communication, and results—ensuring alignment between governance decisions and classroom impact.
• Models integrity and fairness, maintain confidentiality when appropriate, and exercise sound judgement when navigating sensitive situations. 
• Ensures that personal, political, or external pressures do not compromise student-centered decision-making, demonstrating the courage to prioritize students over outside interests.
• Builds trust through consistency between spoken words and demonstrated actions, admitting mistakes when they occur, learning from them openly, and taking responsibility for outcomes.

Political Acumen

• Navigates the complex political landscape of a large, diverse district with skill and diplomacy in order to build bridges and productive relationships across different stakeholder groups. 
• Effectively reads the environment; chooses when to lead, when to follow, when to compromise, and when to hold firm on non-negotiables, demonstrating flexibility and conviction in service of students.
• Proactively anticipates how decisions will be perceived by different audiences and their political implications, choosing strategic pathways that address concerns, minimize risks, and advance student-centered priorities.
• Does not shy away from conflict; navigates sensitive issues and handles disagreements tactfully, making decisions that respect differing viewpoints.

Innovation and Systems Perspective

• Possesses a deep understanding of and ability to execute on systems-level operations, management, and organizational design in order to deliver desired outcomes. 
• Brings deep knowledge of emerging trends and best practices to drive necessary changes that address changing student needs and demographic shifts, while honoring the 'Gwinnett Way' and preserving the district's reputation.
• Balances the tension between urgency and sustainability in a complex organization in order to make  bold moves for academic improvement and safety while maintaining organizational stability and community confidence.
• Leverages systems, processes, technology to improve efficiency, operations, and decision-making.

Capacity Building and Team Champion

• Builds cohesive teams that collaborate effectively across departments, levels, and schools, and breaks  down silos between the ISC and the schools/clusters.
• Accurately assesses team and individuals’ skills, identifies development needs, and provides feedback and support to improve practice and maximize talent.
• Models and fosters conditions for professional growth and learning through continuous feedback, honesty,  and coaching.
• Creates an environment of psychological safety where staff feel empowered to speak up, take risks, and challenge the status quo without fear of retaliation.

Qualifications

• Ten years or more of increased leadership in a large, urban or suburban K-12 school system with diverse student needs, multilingual population, and significant resource demands
• Has played a key leadership role in a school system of similar size, scale, and complexity and managed a budget and leadership team supporting multiple units, departments, or divisions 
• Demonstrated track record of closing achievement and opportunity gaps and improving outcomes for historically marginalized students
• Experience leading instructional improvement across diverse schools and networks or clusters of schools
• Superintendent license or certificate preferred
• Superintendent experience preferred but not required
• Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university in administration and/or supervision; doctorate preferred
• Proven experience working in diverse economic, multicultural, and multilingual communities and environments; Spanish language proficiency is a plus
• Knowledge of public school policy and law, procedures, and management 

Benefits

The salary range for this integral leadership position is $325,000 to $370,000 annually, commensurate with prior experience.In addition to a competitive base salary, Gwinnett County Public Schools provides employees with a total compensation package that is competitive with other metro-Atlanta school systems.