Orange County Schools appointed Danielle Jones as the district's new superintendent. She is a former Durham Public Schools assistant superintendent of middle schools and U.S. Air Force veteran.
Jones said at her swearing in ceremony on Monday night that she is excited to be in Orange County and is eager to get started with her work. Her tenure will begin on Feb. 1.
“My mission is working for children, and we’re going to make sure that they have everything they need to be successful,” she said.
Anne Purcell is the OCS board chair and said of the six final candidates, Jones stood out because of her experience in education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent. The board considered applications from more than two dozen candidates from across the country.
“[Jones] said, ‘I am here for student success and for students in every way that I can be,’ and that’s what we wanted, and that’s what we needed,” Purcell said.
Purcell also said the board hopes to see Jones work to encourage promotion of assistant principals to principals throughout the district.
Jones holds three degrees from N.C. State University, including a bachelor's in business management, a master's of school administration and a doctorate in education administration and supervision. In addition to her work as an assistant superintendent at DPS, Jones has served as a principal, assistant principal and teacher in Franklin County and as a teacher in the Wake Public School System.
Stacey Stewart, the chief of schools for DPS and Jones’ supervisor, said DPS will miss Jones because she is dedicated to students’ success and is a “strategic thinker.”
“As a result of her being very intentional with her work working with her principals, we have seen some great gains at the middle school level in terms of student growth, and increasing levels of proficiency,” she said.
