Meet Durham Public Schools’ New Superintendent Anthony Lewis

After a volatile year in Durham Public Schools — featuring sick leave, high-level resignations, staff unrest and a historic budget increase — the district now has a new superintendent.

The school board selected Anthony Lewis from more than 100 candidates. He joined WUNC education reporter Liz Schlemmer for a conversation as he prepares to lead the district starting in August.

NOTE: This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Dr. Lewis, you have been the superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas since 2018. You started as a special education teacher and then became a principal in Montgomery, Alabama. What makes you a good fit for Durham?

I think I come from a college town – we have the University of Kansas here in Lawrence – and also a basketball town. I realize I’m joining the Duke Blue Devils now. But I think what makes me a good candidate is some of the challenges that Durham is facing right now in terms of focusing on staff salaries, especially ranked staff.

Two years ago, our (Lawrence Public Schools) board of trustees approved a bargaining unit with our classified staff. So now we have two unions, one for our certified staff and one for our classified staff.

I recognize and understand that public employee unions are prohibited and are not permitted in North Carolina. However, the relationships and opportunities I have had working with classified personnel, as well as certified personnel, will, I believe, allow us as a school system to address these concerns head on, so that we can ultimately create exceptional working conditions for all of our staff, because the working conditions of our staff are the learning conditions of our students.

Durham Public Schools has had a difficult year, especially when it comes to employee relations. When school officials discovered that staff raises were millions of dollars over budget, it triggered sick leave and fears that many employees would leave permanently. How will you rebuild trust with school employees?

One of the things you’ll find in my Superintendent Starter Plan* is to spend a lot of time listening to all stakeholders internally. And externally, you’ll often hear me say that success moves at the speed of trust.

So I’ve invested up front, reaching out to a lot of people, including our classified staff and other workers, to allow them to spend time with me and listen to them. But then, after we listen, what measures are going to be put in place? So these are going to be tough conversations, but I’m up for that challenge.

What do you want Durham families and the school community to know about you and your values?

This is one of the things I paid particular attention to when I was looking at the Durham opportunity, because the school’s values ​​had to match my own. I will be bringing two children of my own who will be students in Durham Public Schools.

What you get from a superintendent is a superintendent who truly believes he can add value to the work and success that has taken place in Durham (with recent gains in state test scores) and add value to it.

I’m very competitive. I believe in being the best. And I believe that once adults come together like never before to really center our students in a radical way, our students will soar. And so, right now, we’re not outperforming the state yet, but we will, and we will be the number one school district in the country.

*Lewis said he plans to make his entry plan public after the school board reviews it.