YORK COUNTY — On Oct. 1, James Carroll will begin to take the reins of York County School Division, serving as the district’s interim superintendent. As he gets set to begin his new job, Carroll sat down with WYDaily to discuss his expectations for leading the division.
Carroll started with York County School Division in 2014, however, he is no stranger to the world of education.
“I’m a third-generation educator. My grandmother and mother were both teachers. I actually was forced to have my mother in class three different times in high school, because she was the only teacher that taught the courses, and I swore to myself that I’d never get into it,” Carroll said.
He started in education as a paraeducator before becoming a certified teacher, where he taught history.
Coming to the district in 2014, Carroll served as Chief of Human Resources before working his way up to become the Chief Operating Officer. In his COO capacity, he oversees capital projects, information technology, maintenance, safety and security, student services and transportation.
While he will be stepping in as the interim superintendent, Carroll is approaching the role as if he were taking on the job fully. He plans to start the role by building relationships.
“I’ve been here for the last 11 years, I know the system well, I know the buildings. What I don’t know as well is the instructional staff, so building those relationships is the next step. Getting to know that side, we’ve got operational staff that makes up about half of our staff and instructional — that’s the other half. I have to build those relationships so that people understand that I know what it’s like to be in the classroom,” Carroll said.
One of the most important things Carroll wants to continue work on is the implementation of the district’s strategic plan.
“Our strategic plan is in its fourth year, and a lot of that work was done on the front end of building baseline data and data systems to track those things for our KPIs. Now we’re starting to focus down and instead of working on the macro, we’re getting into the micro, where we can really focus in on individual schools and students and making sure that we’re fostering that work. It’s nice to see that progression, of where we started with the plan and now we’re really being able to get granular with that work,” Carroll said.
He also plans to get more involved in discussions about instruction in the division and the conversations around the county operating budget and the capital budget.
Working alongside Victor Shandor for his entire tenure within the division, Carroll notes that he will take to heart many lessons the former superintendent taught him as he begins the job.
“Dr. Shandor has taught me the balance of processes versus people. I’m the type that always wants to figure out the process for dealing with situations and things, while Dr. Shandor would always bring the heart to it. He would always say, ‘don’t forget the heart, don’t forget the people who are affected,'” Carroll said.
Carroll added that the public should expect no changes to how the division is run from the top.
“Don’t expect a change in course. York County was a strong organization before he and I came, but it improved and we’re going to be continuing on that course. But, we should also expect more improvement as we go along because it’s in our culture to be continuously improving and to not rest on our laurels,” Carroll added.
A nationwide search is currently underway by the Virginia School Boards Association to help YCSD find its next superintendent.