Durham Public Schools’ New Superintendent Wraps Up Series of Listening Sessions

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Good morning, readers.

Durham’s new Northern High School looms, rather than stands, off Roxboro Road.

The beige bulk of horizontality looks kind of like Durham’s downtown justice center but toppled over into a sea of parking. The cafeteria, a cavernous atrium, may have been inspired by an airplane hangar or perhaps a thoughtfully and brilliantly lit Costco warehouse. 

That’s not to say that the new school, a desperately needed upgrade from the crumbling ruin now known as the old Northern, isn’t grand—perhaps just a little uninspired as a cradle of learning. 

If it’s somehow a good metaphor for the legacy left to Durham’s new superintendent, I don’t know how. Still, Dr. Anthony Lewis used the cafeteria last week to pitch himself to parents and staff through a “community listening session.”

Lewis has radiated confidence, charisma, and competency in his first three months in the job, a period that he joked about in his opening remarks. 

“I’ve done my 90-day trial, right?” he told the crowd of about 100 stakeholders. 

Community members have given Lewis some grace as he learns about DPS. But they’ll only remain patient for so long as the district’s problems—understaffed bus routes, aging facilities, mistrust between the administration and school staff—don’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon.

The superintendent, however, is always quick to remind people that improvement is going to be a team effort. 

“When I meet people, they say, ‘Well, you have your work cut out for you,’” Lewis said. “And I quickly correct them and say, ‘No, no, no, we have our work cut out for us.’”

Check out the full story here. And have a good Thursday.

—Chase

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