The leader of Newton County Schools has been named one of four finalists to be the nation’s superintendent of the year.
Newton Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey, who earlier this year won Georgia’s Superintendent of the Year honors, will compete against leaders from Eugene, Ore., Hampton, Va., and Mineola, N.Y., to be the American Association of School Administrators’ top schools leader for 2020.
The winner will be announced during the association’s national conference on education Feb. 13-15 in San Diego.
“It is quite an honor to represent Georgia, the Newton County School System, and community as a national finalist for Superintendent of the Year,” Fuhrey said in a release Tuesday. “I would not be in this position without our dedicated school system team, our hard-working students, and our supportive community.”
The competitors were chosen because of their leadership skills, communication abilities, professionalism and community involvement.
The winner will have a $10,000 college scholarship made in his or her name to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated or the school now serving the same area.
Fuhrey, the first woman to serve as Newton superintendent, is in her seventh year as the east metro Atlanta community’s top boss. The Newton County Board of Education has extended her contract six times since she came to the district.
Her other honors include the president’s award in 2016 from the Georgia School Superintendents Association and more recently the distinguished alumni award from Marywood University in Dunmore, Penn.
“We are absolutely excited that Mrs. Fuhrey’s leadership, commitment to public education, and innovative practices have gained recognition nationally by becoming one of the top four finalists in the nation for Superintendent of the Year,” Newton Board Chairwoman Shakila Henderson-Baker said.
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