ARCHIVED FILE

A Message from the Incoming Superintendent,
Dr. Lillian M. Lowery

February 10, 2006

To members of the Christina School District Community: 

I want to extend my thanks to so many of you who have taken the time to congratulate and welcome me to my new position as Superintendent of the Christina School District. I am excited to begin in this new role, and plan to be in place by April 1.

Under the leadership of Dr. Wise, the students of the Christina School District have made incredible progress. I am impressed that the decisions made on behalf of Christina’s children were driven by solid data, which has been demonstrated by the continued growth in student performance results over the past three years. CSD is moving in the right direction.

I, like other education leaders who are committed to school reform, believe in keeping the main thing the main thing:  what is best for students.  I ask that as we continue to analyze the areas of the referendum request that caused the most constituent concern, we remember to always keep the needs of our students at the forefront of our decision-making.

I am already working with District staff to identify ways to improve communication and community support for our schools.  And, in tandem with CSD Board members, whom I respect without question for the admirable work they have done on behalf of CSD students, we will continue to reach out in positive ways to the benefit of the common good.

Finally, What Works in Schools:  Translating Research into Action, a book written by Robert J. Marzano, poses that “any school can operate at advanced levels of effectiveness if it is willing to implement what is known as effective schooling.”  We will work from this and other models that are based on solid research to develop a learning community that addresses the needs of all students, from those gifted students with identified disabilities and language barriers to those gifted students with superior talents in many areas. 

The Christina School District is a learning organization, in many ways and on many levels.  I share with each of you, as I shared with Board members, my favorite quote: “There is nothing more powerful than a fixed and well-defined focus with an honorable purpose.  It identifies your nature and ensures success.”  The faculty and staff of CSD are prepared to provide our students with that kind of focus, and the school community’s partnership and support are needed to make the critical difference. 

I ask everyone to please keep an open mind as we retool the referendum package to create a request that can be supported by our community on all levels.  We will need to work together to support the referendum if we are to continue providing a world-class education to the children of the Christina School District.

Respectfully,
Lillian M. Lowery

Christina Board Names New Superintendent
Dr. Lillian M. Lowery
 

The Christina Board of Education has selected Dr. Lillian M. Lowery as Superintendent of the Christina School District.  Dr. Lowery's selection as Superintendent was approved in a unanimous vote by the Board at a special board meeting held at the Sarah Pyle Academy on January 24, 2006.  The date she will begin as Superintendent has not yet been determined.  

Lillian Lowery is a resident of Reston, Virginia.  She holds an Ed.D. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University.  She was a Fellow in the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy in 2004. 

Dr. Lowery presently serves as Assistant Superintendent of Cluster VII for Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia.  Prior to this position, she served for two years as an Area Administrator for Fort Wayne Community Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She has a total of seven years’ experience as a school building administrator, serving as principal, Minority Student Achievement Monitor, and Assistant Principal for Fairfax County between 1995 and 2002.  Dr. Lowery also taught middle and high school English for seventeen years in school districts in Fairfax, Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia, and Gastonia, North Carolina.  

In her role as Assistant Superintendent for Fairfax County Public Schools, Lowery provided leadership for 25 schools serving 23,000 students, including an alternative high school and two special education centers.  She assisted the superintendent in restructuring the district’s strategic plan to create a more cohesive K-12 continuum for teaching and learning.  As Area Administrator in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dr. Lowery oversaw 16 schools in an urban district of more than 32,000 students.  Overall math scores throughout the district improved in all tested grades with gains of up to 6 percentage points.  In one school that had been on probation, 100% of minority students passed the state math exam in third grade and the school was awarded a Blue Ribbon designation. 

Dr. Lowery is a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the American Association of School Administrators, and the LEAD Fairfax Program sponsored by the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund.  She also serves as a Board Member for the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.  She has been a presenter at state, national, and international conferences, and has received numerous awards.  In 2002 she was presented with the Mayor’s Service Award by the City of Fairfax, Virginia, and an Outstanding Service Award by the City of Fairfax School Board.  She was also named the Outstanding School Representative by the Fairfax Youth Community Alliance in 2002. 

She has stated, “Having spent over 26 years as an educator, I understand the importance of tailoring my areas of expertise to meet the service needs of the district’s citizenry.  I sincerely believe that I possess the capability to work collaboratively with school and community leaders to plan and maintain an inclusive teaching and learning environment that ensures a quality education for students and an attractive lifestyle choice for families and businesses.”