Contact: Lisa Deffendall • First Posted: Tuesday, February 1, 2011

‘After 37 years of serving … it’s time.’ 

Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman, who has led the school district to national prominence since taking the helm in 2004, announced Feb. 1 that he will be retiring. Although Silberman’s last days of work will be in July, he said he wanted to announce his decision early enough to give the Fayette County Board of Education ample time to conduct a thorough search.

 

“I care deeply about Fayette County and our kids and did not enter into this decision lightly,” Silberman said Tuesday. “But at the same time, I am certain I must move on to this next phase of my life after 37 years of serving. I have given this a lot of thought and prayer and have come to the conclusion that I need to spend more time with my family.  It is very hard to explain, but when you come to this point in your life, you just know. It’s time.”

 

Silberman dispelled speculation that his decision was based upon the difficulty of snow decisions or a call to another post.

 

“I have been making snow calls for more than 20 years and am used to what comes along with that job,” he said. “Kathy and I have been talking about this for a couple of months. There is nowhere other than Fayette County that I would want to be superintendent.”

 

During Silberman’s tenure, student achievement has skyrocketed, from three schools surpassing 100 on the state accountability system to 24 this year. Student performance in reading and math has improved dramatically – from roughly half of students meeting state benchmarks in 2004 to nearly 8 in 10 last spring.

 

Under Silberman’s leadership, the district has become more transparent and proactive in communication with families, employees, community and the media. Rather than a constant cycle of budget cuts, the district is now on solid financial ground.  Massive community support led to the passage of a sorely needed property tax to address longstanding facility needs, and 21 renovations and new buildings are currently in various stages of completion.

 

“I just can’t say enough about the hard work that’s taken place in this school district by our teachers, staff, students, families and community members,” Silberman said. “This is a wonderful school district, with talented employees and an incredibly supportive community. I know we will attract outstanding candidates to continue the work.”

 

Other improvements include increased world language offerings, financial literacy curriculums in the middle and high schools, a customer service initiative, expanded Advanced Placement offerings, more school nurses, investments in technology and music education and additional preschool services. The district has expanded its Spanish immersion program, launched a partnership with Bluegrass Community and Technical College that places high school students on a college campus during the junior and senior year, established an alternative school for middle and high school students seeking a different teaching style and broken ground on a state-of-the-art agriscience center that will be the first of its kind in the nation.

 

These myriad accomplishments have brought recognition to the Fayette County Public Schools and Silberman himself.  In 2009, Parenting Magazine named Lexington the No. 2 city in the nation for education. The district’s communication efforts have garnered state and national awards. The district’s bond rating has been upgraded to AA, making it possible for FCPS to get the lowest finance interest rate ever recorded in the state of Kentucky for a governmental entity.

 

In 2008, Silberman was one of four finalists for National Superintendent of the Year. Last fall he received two national distinctions: the 2010 Award for Outstanding Support of Early Second Language Learning and the 2010 Excellence in Educational Leadership Award. He also earned the 2010 Outstanding Administrator Award from the Kentucky World Language Association. He has three times been named Kentucky’s State Superintendent of the Year, twice by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators and once by the Kentucky School Boards Association.

 

“Part of the decision-making process that I went through was becoming at peace with the district being on a very solid stable, foundation,” Silberman said. “I believe that the district is poised to continue to move to the next levels for our kids. There’s no way I could have made this decision if I didn’t believe that the work would continue.”

 

When Silberman was hired in 2004, he was Fayette County’s fifth superintendent in three years.  At the time, he pledged to stay 10 years in order to provide stability for the district.

 

“I believe we’ve achieved that stability,” Silberman said. “There’s no doubt that this school district is on a solid foundation. And I know our school board members and staff will maintain the focus on doing what’s best for our kids.”

 

Board of Education Chairman John Price praised Silberman for his service and expressed confidence that the district would continue its mission to maximize student achievement.

 

“We appreciate the work that Stu has done for our district and community, and we will certainly be sorry to see him retire,” Price said. “I want to assure everyone that we will continue to move forward to raise achievement for every student. This will not stop or slow down our focus on student achievement.”

 

The work happening in classrooms and schools throughout the district will remain strong, he explained.

 

“We as a community need to realize that our student achievement takes place in the classroom under the leadership of our teachers, our principals and our IAKSS support team,” Price said. “And all those others will continue their efforts every day as they have been doing under Stu’s leadership.”

 

Price said the school board would have to meet to begin taking steps to find the next superintendent. He anticipated that the board would move swiftly to ensure a strong pool of candidates.

 

Under Kentucky law, a superintendent screening committee composed of two teachers, one board of education member, one principal, one parent and one classified employee will be formed to assist the school board in the selection of the next schools chief.

 

“I anticipate, with the support of the board, that we would use a process very similar to when Stu was hired, which was a very open process with lots of community involvement,” Price said.