Dr. Anthony D. Jackson, Superintendent of Vance County Schools, was named the 2020 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year at an awards presentation and reception held Tuesday, Nov. 19 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The award was given jointly by the North Carolina Association of School Administrators (NCASA), the North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association (NCSSA) and the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA).
Scholastic sponsored the event and provided $5,000 in recognition of Dr. Jackson’s achievements. He was nominated for the state honor after being named the 2020 North Carolina Regional Superintendent of the Year by the Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance.
Dr. Jackson has worked in education for more than 30 years and has served as Superintendent of Vance County Schools (VCS) since 2015. Under his leadership, the district is implementing the Welnspire Digital Transformation initiative, funded by a $200,000 Golden Leaf Grant and the Vance County Board of Commissioners. Several innovative instructional programs have been developed including the Youth Empowerment Academy for at-risk middle school students, the AdVance Academy that provides both credit recovery and credit acceleration opportunities for high school students, and the Vance Evening Academy for at-risk high school students that serves as an alternative to long-term suspension. The graduation rate has increased dramatically, and the dropout rate has fallen to 2.02% from a five-year high of 5.25%. Student achievement has significantly improved, and the district is no longer designated as low-performing.