Dr. Pope Superintendent of the Year
Manassas City Superintendent Named Region IV Superintendent of the Year
Manassas City Superintendent Gail Pope has been named Region IV Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS).
“With all of the time and effort she puts in, I’m not surprised she got it,” said School Board member Tim Demeria.
Each year superintendents from school divisions across the state compete for one of eight regional titles. As the Region IV winner, Dr. Pope will be considered for the Virginia Superintendent of the Year.
Dr. Pope explained that she was not nominated for the award, but rather she, like every other applicant, had to fill out an application.
“The questions [are based upon] improvements, initiatives, etc. that have been instituted,” she explained. “I was encouraged to complete an application packet so that I could share the wonderful things that are happening in Manassas City Schools.”
Among many of her accomplishments Pope created the Preparing the 21st Century Learner platform in 2008 which analyzed the curriculum and how Manassas schools should best utilize their resources. As part of the program, she attended several workforce seminars to learn what skills local employers are looking for in an effort to find better ways to prepare her students for the future.
Another accomplishment which set Dr. Pope apart was her involvement in the design and development of the Governor’s School @ Innovation Park. The school, which is a collaborative effort between Manassas City, Manassas Park, Prince William County public schools, and George Mason University, emphasizes on STEM subjects-- science technology, engineering and math.
Recently Dr. Pope revised the school system’s mission and strategic goals in a new six-year plan. In a press release she explained that the plan is designed to be the umbrella under which the system’s work will be documented and reported.
Even though her name is on the award, Dr. Pope is quick to acknowledge the hard work and teamwork which went into it.
“The recognitions should really be “School Division of the Year,” Dr. Pope said. “The accomplishments that I noted were achieved through the hard work of our staff, students, and parents and through the unwavering commitment and support of our school board. They should be thanked.”
The Virginia Superintendent of the Year will be announced at the annual VASS conference in Roanoke on May 3.
Michael Baldwin
1:38 pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2011
How is she superintendant of the year when the washington post reported that Manassas City was one of the lowest preforming school districts in Northern Virginia?
I can only assume that no one else filled out the application, or there is a fee to fill it out and she is the only one with her huge salary and bonus package that can afford it.
Lonnie
8:42 am on Thursday, May 5, 2011
After looking up the information about the first all-Northern Virginia ranking of public high schools. It does not show nor does it say Manassas City was one of the lowest preforming school districts. I would love to have the link from which this report came from.
http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/top-high-schools/
Erin Gibson
9:43 am on Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hi Lonnie, I believe this is the story that sheds light on the Washington Post report, which measured the academic achievement a school district produces relative to its educational spending: http://patch.com/A-f5rp
Side note: In a recent city council meeting, Dr. Pope mentioned that the report analyzed data collected in 2005.
Brad L
8:01 am on Saturday, May 7, 2011
Unfortunately Dr. Pope is a very poor superintendent as evidenced by her feeling very strongly about not holding children back in grades even though they don't meet the basic requirements. She feels very strongly about the kids "image" and "self perception". A noble yet bad approach in my opinion. As a result, there are kids who move from grade to grade in elementary school to Mayfield, Metz and ultimately to Osbourn who quite simply are not close to being prepared. The result is that at Osbourn the poor teachers have to deal with students who are ill prepared for the basics at their "grade level". The end result is that the overall quality of students and expectations continue to go down. Manassas used to have very strong schools. Under Dr. Pope's "leadership" the school system continues to degrade. Congratulations on the award.