Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, June 09, 2011

Elaine Farris, superintendent in Clark County, is one of three finalists for the top job in Fayette County Public Schools. (Photo: Tammy L. Lane)

Clark County Superintendent Elaine Farris was the final candidate to interview in Fayette County Public Schools, where she once worked.

“I had a great experience here and established a lot of great relationships. I’m excited about the opportunity to return,” she said Thursday, citing the breadth of her career experience as a catalyst for advancing FCPS. “I understand the importance of education to this community.”

The district is seeking a successor to Superintendent Stu Silberman, who retires this summer after seven years at the helm.

In a public forum, Farris answered about 30 questions submitted in advance by the community, including who was her favorite childhood teacher and why. Channel 13 taped the session in Norsworthy Auditorium for rebroadcast.*

Farris noted how Clark County schools are proactive in engaging families, for instance, through Prichard Committee training and encouraged use of the Parent Portal to keep up with their children’s progress. “We have embraced the idea that parental involvement is a correlation to academic success,” she said.

She also emphasized that a school district is responsible for all its students achieving at high levels. “You raise the floor but you also raise the ceiling,” she explained, noting how effective teachers can make it happen through differentiated instruction, innovative use of technology in the classroom and lessons tailored to each child’s needs.

Farris also advocates alternatives to the traditional classroom setting such as online courses and variable daily schedules – whatever it takes to meet students’ needs and reduce dropouts.

“A P.E. teacher by trade,” she is a big proponent of health and wellness initiatives and cited several student-driven programs in Clark County such as Walk and Talk, a chance for middle schoolers to exercise and develop social skills.

After the forum and dinner, the Fayette County Board of Education interviewed Farris. Earlier in the day, she spoke with groups of employees, students, parents and community members. She also fielded a few questions from the media in an afternoon news conference.

Farris said she enjoys working at the grass-roots level with direct access to students and teachers and strives to develop leaders who will step up when it’s their turn at bat. “I have a great passion for watching administrators grow as professionals,” she said.

In response to questions about closing achievement gaps, “We know it can be done,” she said, calling it both a challenge and a priority that all students master the core content. “We have a moral obligation to ensure we’re providing an equitable education for all our students.”

Farris believes her experience with different staffs and diverse cultures from the local schools to the Kentucky Department of Education gives her a broad perspective on how to lead FCPS into an even brighter future.

If chosen as superintendent, she would meet with focus groups and board members to hear what they feel are the biggest challenges facing the district, what they really want to hold onto, and what their expectations are for her.

Farris also would commit to stay seven to 10 years to provide stable leadership, saying, “I know the importance of sustainability and continuity.”

On the air

* Channel 13 will replay Farris’ news conference at 11:30 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday, and her forum at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday. For those without access to cable, Channel 13 programming streams live.

Bio highlights

Elaine Farris

• Current position: Clark County superintendent
• Age: 56
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, master’s degree in health education and Rank I in instructional leadership from Eastern Kentucky University, superintendent certification from the University of Kentucky, pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and policy development at Eastern Kentucky University.
• Experience: Nearly three decades in education with experience in Clark, Fayette, and Shelby counties and at the Kentucky Department of Education, including 11 years as a teacher, three years as an assistant principal, two years as a highly skilled educator, three years as a principal, three years as an elementary school director, three years as superintendent in Shelby County, two years as deputy commissioner of education, six months as interim commissioner of education for the state of Kentucky and the past two years as superintendent in Clark County.
• Family: Married with one child.

Share your impressions

Everyone is welcome to submit comments about the three finalists by emailing superinput@fayette.kyschools.us. Messages will be forwarded to the school board members, who begin deliberations early Friday.