Samantha Fuhrey, superintendent, Newton County School System, Georgia
Mrs. Samantha Fuhrey is currently serving her
seventh year as Superintendent of the Newton County School System. She is the
first female superintendent since the inception of the school system almost 150
years ago. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Mrs. Fuhrey was named one of four finalists
for Superintendent of the Year for the state of Georgia. Additionally, Mrs.
Fuhrey’s outstanding leadership abilities were recognized by the Georgia School
Superintendents Association when she was awarded the President’s Award in 2016.
Marywood University in Dunmore, Pennsylvania recently recognized Superintendent
Furhey with the Distinguished Alumni Award in June 2019.
Having extensive experience at the executive level, Mrs. Fuhrey previously
served as the Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the
Executive Director for Secondary Education, the Director of Secondary
Education, and the Director of Professional Learning for the Newton County
School System. Mrs. Fuhrey also served as the principal of Indian Creek Middle
School in Newton County after having been promoted from the assistant principal
position. Prior to her employment with the Newton County School System, Mrs.
Fuhrey worked with the DeKalb County School System as an assistant principal
and an English teacher.
Mrs. Fuhrey earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Marywood University and
her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from State University of West
Georgia. She added an Education Specialist’s Degree in Educational Leadership
from Georgia College and State University.
Serving on education and community board is important to Mrs. Fuhrey. She
serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Georgia Piedmont Technical
College; the Newton County Chamber of Commerce; the Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale
Board of Health; the Arts Association in Newton County; Newton County Tomorrow;
and Griffin RESA. She is also a member of a community steering committee that
works to reduce the incidences of domestic violence in Newton County. Mrs.
Fuhrey serves as a member of the Superintendent's Advisory Council for the
Executive Director of the Georgia School Boards Association, the Georgia School
Boards Association Rural Community Task Force, the Georgia Education Coalition
and is also a chartering member of Ford Next Generation Learning Communities’
Superintendent’s Council. She has served on the State School Superintendent's
Innovative Assessment Pilot Task Force.
Mrs. Fuhrey is a certified poverty coach and has served as a Leadership
Preparation Performance Coach. She has led many presentations throughout the
state and across the country regarding the utilization of cameras in the
classroom to impact student achievement and eradicating poverty. She has
presented at the Georgia Association for Educational Leaders conference, the
Georgia School Boards Association conference, the Georgia Association of
Curriculum and Instructional Supervisors, the Georgia School Superintendent's
Association, the WestEd conference, the Alabama Association of School Boards
conference, the International Reading Conference and the National Council of
Teachers of English conference. Mrs. Fuhrey has conducted workshops on
Leadership Development, Teacher Leadership, Corrective Reading, Literacy Across
the Curriculum, and Reading Fluency. She has volunteered for many organizations
including the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Covington Relay for
Life, and Newton County Literacy Volunteers.
When not at work, Mrs. Fuhrey enjoys spending time with her husband and
daughter.