Lenoir County superintendent named NC's 2021 A. Craig Phillips Superintendent of the Year
Greensboro | Mr. Brent Williams, Superintendent of Lenoir County Public Schools (LCPS), was named the 2021 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year at an awards presentation and reception held Thursday, Dec. 3.
The award was given jointly by the North Carolina Association of School Administrators (NCASA), the North Carolina School Superintendents' Association (NCSSA) and the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA). Scholastic, who sponsored the event, provided $5,000 in recognition of Williams’ achievements.
Brent Williams has worked in public education for nearly 30 years. A Kinston resident, Williams has served with distinction at all levels in the education system. The Lenoir County Board of Education named Mr. Williams as LCPS Superintendent in 2016 and he has accomplished much in a very short time.
"Brent and his team have developed a culture of innovation and excellence in the Lenoir County Schools since 2015,” said Jack Hoke, Executive Director of the North Carolina School Superintendents' Association. “The district has shown tremendous gains academically, while athletics and the arts have thrived as a source of pride for the district. The graduation rate increased to an all-time high in 2020 and their dropout rate was at an all-time low. He is very deserving of this honor."
In just four years, under the leadership of Mr. Williams, Lenoir County has the best school-by-school scores in the last 17 years of testing. Williams’ unwavering devotion to student advancement has been instrumental in achieving historically high growth in overall graduation rates, a reduction of the school dropout rate, and the highest scores on EOGs, EOCs in the district.
LCPS has also become a leading district in the southeast region for digital learning for their focus on STEM and coding initiatives. “Lenoir Public Schools was one of the first districts in the state selected for a Coding and Mobile App Development Grant from the state. The K-12 coding curriculum, developed with help from Apple, extends coding instruction, exercises, and contests popular in their elementary and middle schools,” said Hoke.
As the 2021 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year, Mr. Williams will compete at the national level for Superintendent of the Year at the American Association of School Administrators' National Conference on Education, hosted virtually, February 18-19, 2021.
The 2021 North Carolina Regional Superintendents of the Year, all of whom were nominees for this prestigious state award and were recognized as such at the Dec. 3 ceremony, included:
• Region 1 | Northeast | Dr. William Wright, Hertford County Schools
• Region 2 | Southeast | Mr. Brent Williams, Lenior County Schools
• Region 3 | Central | Dr. Pascal Mubenga, Durham Public Schools
• Region 4 | Sandhills | Dr. Bob Grimsey, Moore County Schools
• Region 5 | Piedmont/Triad | Dr. Sharon Contreras, Guilford County Schools
• Region 6 | Southwest | Dr. Stephen Mauney, Mooresville Graded Schools
• Region 7 | Northwest | Mr. Chad Beasley, Alleghany County Schools
• Region 8 | Western | Dr. Chris Baldwin, Macon County Schools
