MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2018
AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE SUN SENTINEL
PBC SUPERINTENDENT
By Zach Rinkins
Donald Fennoy Makes History as First Black School
Superintendent in Palm Beach County
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donald Fennoy greets constituents in Palm Beach County.
Palm Beach County's top teacher attends a school board meeting.
The School District of Palm Beach
County recently appointed Dr. Donald
E. Fennoy, II as its newest chief
executive. The unprecedented ascension
makes Fennoy the first African-American
to occupy the Office of the
Superintendent of the nation’s 11th
largest school district. The former
teacher, principal, and education
administrator brings a depth of
experience to his role.
“I would not be here if it were not
for the amazing coaches I’ve had over the
years,” said Fennoy. “I am in this role
now. It is important for me to find other
talented people who think they may
want to do this work and really invest in
them and be there to support them
through their work.”
Fennoy defines a high-quality
education as one that is relevant.
“I believe every child deserves a
high-quality education regardless of their
zip code,” explained Fennoy, who earned
his undergraduate degree from Florida
A&M University and his master’s and
doctorate degrees from the University of
Central Florida. “I love magnet schools. I
was a magnet school principal. But, we
have to make sure that they aren’t the
only avenues to success. We have to
invest in other spaces to make sure our
children have every opportunity to
excel.”
Fennoy aims to cultivate an
outreach-oriented culture that brings
district resources directly to stakeholders,
parents, and students.
“The world is changing before our
eyes. The old workforce assembly line
model where employees did the same
things for 30 years is gone,” he assessed.
“We have to ensure that our children are
able to interact with people, be critical
thinkers, and be comfortable with
ambiguity.”
Fennoy added, ”School leaders have
to take it upon themselves to understand
their communities. If the community
is not coming to you to get the
information, then we have to figure out
how to get it to them. We have to find
ways to get information to the people.
That may mean going to religious
facilities, neighborhood association
meetings, or commissioners to ensure
people get the information.”
The district is a robust economic
engine that boasts a $2.9 billion budget
and is the county’s largest employer with
27,168 employees. Fennoy aims to
ensure that the economic benefits is
enjoyed by the entire community.
“Our human resources department is
evaluated on how they diversify the
workforce as much as possible. We
challenge them to go to different places
to literally find people that mirror the
students in our school,” said Fennoy.
“We challenge them to go to places like
Black colleges, Puerto Rico, and other
places. The idea of learning from all of
these different cultures is what makes
Palm Beach an incredible place to learn.”
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