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2008-01-03  FORSYTH HERALD | New Forsyth superintendent takes reigns of school system
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| | by Logan Thomas | |  |
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| | | (SPECIAL/www.forsythherald.com)
Dr. L.C. “Buster” Evans was officially sworn as the 18th superintendent of Forsyth County Schools on Dec. 19. Evans was sworn in by Forsyth County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bagley at the Forsyth County Board of Education Office. Evans’ wife Debbie and daughter Laura assisted in the ceremony. Former Superintendent Paula Gault retired on Dec. 31. (click for larger version) | |
January 07, 2008
FORSYTH COUNTY - There is a new superintendent in town.
L.C. "Buster" Evans has officially taken the position as Forsyth County Superintendent of Schools after serving five months as deputy superintendent. Former Superintendent Paula Gault retired on Dec. 31.
Although Evans said the time spent as deputy superintendent was valuable, he is ready to "do the job he was hired to do."
"Paula and I worked well together," he said. "For five months, there was not a cross word between the two of us. I think we've done exactly what the board of education and the community wanted and that was to have a smooth transition."
Evans said he spent the time learning the ins and outs of Forsyth County schools and building relationships within the system.
"I'd say building trusting relationships was the most important," he said. "No matter what you're doing in life, trusting relationships are important."
The quality of personnel has been impressive, Evans said.
"It's just phenomenal," he said. "I have also been pleasantly surprised with the strong level of community support and parent support. The civic and business support has been overwhelming."
Evans said the system has coped with incredible growth in recent years.
"They have really done well dealing with the sheer growth of the system by updating the old and building new facilities," he said.
"They have overcome obstacles and ensured they are providing a quality education to the students."
But there are still growing pains that need to be addressed such as more facilities for sports and other activities.
"I think some of these issues will require multi-organizational efforts," he said. "Some of these solutions probably don't lie with a single agency. I have been very happy to find the school system has great relationships with the city and county."
However, Evans said looking for size and space are "good problems to have."
The new superintendent said the "biggest room is the room for improvement" and Evans has ideas to improve on the successes of the school system.
One such goal is seeing SAT scores increase.
"Although they are extremely good now," he said, "I see no reason we can't compete with the best district in the state."
Evans is creating a task force charged with increasing these test scores.
"SAT scores are the number one thing companies look at," he said. "And we're not just competing against Georgia. We need to be sure we re-frame our comparison systems."
The graduation rate in Forsyth County ranks at 83 percent, a number 13 points higher than the state average. But Evans said he doesn't want to be satisfied with this number.
"It's not 100," he said. "We can still climb. The district has already been doing some interesting things to see this percentage increase."
Evans said he is also working on R4 Digital Dashboard, a graphical and interactive way to "show how the school system is doing." Evans compares this to the cockpit of an airplane and should display easily accessible information for the public.
He said this should be ready sometime in March.
More Photos online at www.northfulton.com.
- www.northfulton.com
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