A new superintendent will step into the top spot at the Orange County school district next month, following the departure of four-year superintendent Monique Felder last year.
Danielle Jones, who currently serves as an assistant superintendent for Durham Public Schools (DPS), will start in Orange County on February 1. Jones was selected by the Orange County Board of Education from a pool of 26 candidates from across the country, according to a news release.
“This is a tremendous honor, and I want to express my sincere appreciation to the Orange County Board of Education for the trust and confidence they have placed in me to lead our district,” Jones said after she was sworn in on Tuesday.
Jones began her career in education as a middle school teacher in Youngsville, later moving to the Wake County Public School System and then Franklin County Schools, where she served as a principal and assistant principal. At DPS, she worked as a principal supervisor and coach before becoming assistant superintendent.
“I have a business degree in management,” Jones says. “I was teaching at a daycare and tutoring afterschool, and I just fell in love with it. So that’s sort of how I got my start. I started as a math teacher.”
In Jones’s time at DPS, she oversaw 12 middle schools, which “consistently made impressive academic gains over time,” the news release stated. Each school saw increased proficiency levels last year and, in terms of academic growth (how much students learn over time), six were in the top 20 percent of schools in the state.
Jones says she’s particularly proud of the work she did “growing instructional leaders” by working with principals and assistant principals. “Helping them provide support to teachers, and making sure that filters down to the student level,” she adds.
But while Jones’s record appears to bode well for Orange County schools, some parents, teachers, and community members remain dissatisfied over former superintendent Felder’s abrupt departure. Felder left the position in August after the school board failed to extend her contract.
Orange County Schools had made major gains under Felder. In 2022, 10 of the district’s 12 schools exceeded the state’s expectations for academic growth—a higher percentage than in any other district in the state—according to the NC Department of Public Instruction. Felder also had a strong record of expanding student equality.
“In spite of this progress, some will always exploit times of uncertainty to advance their own limited or destructive agendas,” Felder wrote in a March statement to the INDY.
Her words hinted at the controversy over inclusive school policies that has grown in recent years, as lines are drawn between liberal Hillsborough residents and conservative Republicans who live in other parts of the county. The political conflict has been playing out in school board meetings since 2016 and peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the local election resulted in moderates taking back a majority on the school board, leading to greater scrutiny of schools and administrators. Now, Orange County is once again faced with transitioning in a new superintendent, a worrying prospect given the history of turnover in the job.
In an October survey of community members and staff, 819 respondents said they wanted a superintendent that “models high standards of integrity,” “communicates well with people of all races and socioeconomic status,” and “is willing to listen to input.” Experience as a teacher and with “building, maintaining, and managing schools” was also important to people in the school district.
In a brief statement after being sworn in, Jones thanked Orange County teachers and staff and pledged to “continue fostering an environment of trust, mutual respect, and academic excellence.” She added that she is committed to “promoting open communication and collaboration [with parents] to ensure a safe learning environment.”
But equity and inclusion are also on the minds of community members. In a letter to the school board from the Northern Orange NAACP, President Matt Hughes emphasized the need for the district to continue its commitment to “equity, opportunity, and student performance.”
“We believe the next superintendent needs to be a visionary leader who is committed to equity and student growth,” wrote Hughes. He added that education officials should also work to “close the opportunity gap … for students of color and English language learners,” as well as support teachers with salary supplements and take care of classified staff such as bus drivers.
Helping the district meet its challenges “includes continuing the progress that has been made under the previous administration,” Hughes wrote.
“The Northern Orange NAACP is committed to helping our local District meet its challenges and fundamentally that includes continuing the progress that has been made under the previous administration,” Hughes wrote. “At this time radical shifts in policy and focus will not serve the students of this District or the community well. We need a superintendent that is already committed to the District’s successful path on so many of these initiatives.”
Jones declined to comment on specific Orange County policies or issues until she officially steps into her role on February 1, saying she still has some work to do getting to know the school district.
Generally, however, she says her goals are “to make sure we’re supporting teachers, supporting our administrators and that we’re meeting the individual needs of students, every child.”
In addition to meeting basic academic and social-emotional needs, Jones says she wants to provide “enriching and inclusive educational experience.”
Follow Staff Writer Jasmine Gallup on Twitter or send an email to [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].
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