Despite Distractions, He Keeps Focus Where It Belongs

Profile: RODNEY H. SHOTWELL

The pandemic challenged everything for school leaders. Tensions around remote learning, mask mandates, vaccinations of staff and misunderstandings about diversity initiatives frayed the normally solid if not staid relationships between superintendents and their communities.

Rodney Shotwell, superintendent of the 11,000-student Rockingham County Schools in North Carolina, confronted a particularly daunting situation amidst the public health crisis.

In December 2020, he was dismissed abruptly by his seven-member board of education. Shotwell was reinstated quickly — “The day after I was fired, I was back at work the next day at 7 a.m.” — and remains at his post through the end of 2021-22.

Still, it was an unanticipated curveball for someone who has been named the 2015 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year and served as president of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association and the state’s high school athletic association. He serves on the AASA Executive Committee.

Shotwell admits, “Superintendents are under a lot more stress for decisions made during the past 20 months. It has put superintendents into extraordinary situations that no one had to go through before. We’re all learning as we go.” The immediate need, to help students recover from learning loss, he says, was frustrating given the progress that had been made.

In 2006, his first year in charge, the district’s graduation rates were 67 percent for Black students, 48 percent for Hispanic students and 64 percent for low-income students. In 2019-20, the graduation rates were 90 percent for Blacks, 91 percent for Hispanics and 88 percent for economically disadvantaged students. The dropout rate had fallen from 6.5 percent in 2006 to 1.5 percent in 2019.

“We were one of the first rural counties to have completely interactive whiteboards everywhere,” says Shotwell, acknowledging thanks partly to a local foundation.

The superintendent awards a $4,000 scholarship from his own funds annually to a graduating senior. “The very first one I helped is now a principal in Macon County,” where Shotwell spent five years as superintendent before moving to 11,000-student Rockingham County. “There were people helping me, and now I pay it forward,” he says.

“My job is to find the best teachers and get the most resources for students to be successful,” Shotwell says. “I know I’m not an expert. As a servant leader, it helps direct me in what needs to happen.”

Shotwell expects every educator’s focus to be on students. He demonstrates that commitment by serving food to students in the cafeteria and being the announcer at football games, Charles Perkins, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, shared in an e-mail interview.

Most of the district’s teachers remain at school an hour or more after the day ends. Some show up on the weekends. They reach out to parents when a child does something positive.

And Shotwell similarly reaches out to teachers, says Greggory Slate, the district’s athletic director. “He hand-delivers the bouquet or gift basket to the rookie of the year and teacher of the year. He’s always available to talk to teachers before or after school.”

Says Shotwell: “Our teachers really understand that our kids come to school with a lot of baggage. There’s a caring adult here. It only takes one.”

Dealing with COVID-19 has been an intense stress test. “The pandemic put a glaring spotlight on the superintendent and board of education,” he says. “If [we’re] not working together, it’s hard to move forward.” Ultimately, though, “it’s about more than the superintendent and board of education. It’s about the kids.”