Jeff Rose
He is 43, a California native, and has two decades’ experience as an educator. Fulton plans to offer him a three-year contract and $295,000 annual salary.
Experience: He has been superintendent of the Beaverton school district since 2011. Before that, he was superintendent of the Canby school district in Oregon starting in 2008. He has also served as a teacher and principal.
Education: He has a doctorate in educational leadership and a master's degree in teacher education from Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and a bachelor's degree in education from California State University, Long Beach.
Family: Rose and his wife Lisa, who have been married 21 years, have a 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, who plan to attend Fulton schools.
The Oregon educator picked to be the next superintendent of Fulton County has a reputation for boosting achievement levels, particularly among low-income students.
Considered an energetic, innovative leader, Jeff Rose has been superintendent of the Beaverton school district since 2011. Fulton’s school board named him the finalist for superintendent at a news conference Thursday.
He's already weighing in to the debate over standardized tests in Georgia and said he favors legislation to reduce the number of mandated tests and make teacher evaluations less reliant on student test scores.
“I do think testing is important,” he said. “But the most important assessments we do for kids are the ones that reside with the student and the teachers, so we can use that data with the ongoing day-to-day learning as opposed to a dipstick occasionally that ranks us or rates us. While that may be important, it’s not what’s most important for the student.”
After a 14-day public comment period, the Fulton board plans to offer Rose, 43, a three-year contract and $295,000 annual salary. If he accepts, he will join Georgia’s fourth-largest school district June 1, to succeed Robert Avossa, who left last June to become superintendent in Florida’s Palm Beach County.
School board members emphasized that Avossa and longtime Gwinnett schools superintendent Alvin Wilbanks have worked with Rose and recommended him during Fulton’s search.
Avossa and Rose are members of the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium of nearly 20 school districts from 11 states. They rank among the most successful school systems in the nation on a variety of metrics of student success, according to the Education Counsel and The School Superintendents Association.
“I have known Jeff Rose for several years and have participated with him in meetings where kindergarten to 12th-grade education was being discussed,” said Wilbanks in a released statement. “He has the knowledge base, skill set and talent pool needed to be a successful superintendent.”
The board's announcement Thursday follows news last month that Fulton's first choice for superintendent withdrew as a candidate amid criticism over how his administration handled the alleged rape of a Clarke County high school student. Philip Lanoue, school superintendent in Athens since 2009, said he was no longer in the running to lead Fulton. Lanoue was slated to start the job May 1.
Rose was one of two other finalists, and was asked to take the job after Lanoue backed out.
One of Rose’s key challenges will be managing a larger system, which has 101 schools and close to 95,000 students. Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, has 51 schools and nearly 40,000 students. It’s the third-largest school district in Oregon.
Like Fulton, Beaverton has a diverse student population, nearly half of whom are students of color. The largest student group of color is Hispanic/Latino followed by Asian American. The percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches, an indicator of poverty, is nearly 36 percent. In Fulton, it's nearly 47 percent.
Rose's district participates in a research project that includes local superintendents concerned that discipline practices in their districts were having a disproportionate and negative impact on students of color. With this experience, Fulton school board members believe Rose can help the district close its achievement gap between white and non-white students.
“We are confident we have the right new leader to help us continue to close our achievement gap and build on our current strengths,” said Linda McCain, Fulton school board president, in a released statement.
School board members in Beaverton recently gave Rose a pay raise, citing increased graduation rates for students including those in low-income families, and other achievement measures. Rose says he wants to continue to push to increase Fulton’s graduation rate and boost test scores and other achievement efforts.
Chalanda Tucker, who has a daughter in Sandtown Middle School in south Fulton, said she’s encouraged by Rose’s experience in a diverse district and his effort to diminish the achievement gap.
“I think it’s good to have a superintendent that’s younger yet has a lot of experience with very diverse populations,” she said. “I hope he’s up for and ready for the challenge.”
Steve Dolinger, executive director of the advocacy group Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, who was Fulton County school superintendent from 1995-2002, says Rose is experienced enough to lead Fulton but one of his biggest challenges will be learning the culture and how to navigate the political and education systems in Georgia.
“Coming from the outside is going to be a challenge for him, just to know quickly where to go for the information and resources he needs,” Dolinger said. “He’s experienced, he’ll know what he needs. But it’s going to be a challenge to figure out where to go to get that information or support quickly. And also, who do you rely on for quick, candid information?”
Scott Drue, principal at Aloha-Huber Park, a K-8 school in Beaverton with an ethnically diverse and economically challenged population of students, said he’s appreciated what Rose has done trying to diminish the equity gap. He says Rose is also well-liked by teachers, principals and administrators in the school system.
“He’s brought a sense of equity to his work, given voice to diverse groups in Beaverton,” Drue said. “I think Fulton County is incredibly lucky to get him. It’s not a surprise to me that he’s a finalist. What I’ve learned from him, I’ll carry throughout my career.”
“The state of Georgia is going to be better off with Jeff working in public education. I hate to see him go. I really do.”
About the Author
