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This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Prince William County Public Schools has announced that Carol E. Flenard has been appointed deputy superintendent for the division, the second-highest position in the system after McDade’s.
The deputy slot has been vacant since Keith Imon left the division along with Superintendent Steven Walts at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Flenard will step into the job when the new fiscal year begins July 1.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Flenard to the PWCS learning community,” McDade said. “She is an accomplished, proven leader with a wealth of experience in educational leadership and curriculum and instruction. Dr. Flenard brings tremendous value to our school division, and we look forward to working with her.”
Flenard comes to Prince William schools from Spotsylvania, where she started her career 26 years ago as an elementary school teacher and currently serves as interim superintendent, a position she’s held since January.
Spotsylvania’s school division leadership has faced turmoil since Superintendent Scott Baker was fired in January, and the county’s School Board has yet to name Baker’s permanent replacement. As of last October, Spotsylvania’s public schools had a student enrollment of 23,871, less than a third of Prince William’s.
“It is with mixed emotions, I share that I will be leaving Spotsylvania County Public Schools on June 30, 2022. I sincerely thank you all for the support and encouragement you have provided during my tenure,” Flenard wrote in an email to Spotsylvania’s employees and families.
“We navigated together a pandemic and post-pandemic time period that has presented challenges not seen before in our education system. I will always be grateful for your trust and commitment to our students and community.”
According to the Prince William announcement, she previously served as the deputy superintendent and chief academic officer at Spotsylvania County Public Schools from 2012 to her interim appointment earlier this year. The announcement credits her with helping to develop “intervention plans for schools in accreditation warning status with a 100% success rate.”
All eligible Prince William schools are state-accredited, but new State Superintendent of Education Jillian Balow and Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera have hinted that they may change certain accreditation standards to make them more stringent.
Reporting directly to McDade, Flenard will supervise the division superintendents for teaching and learning, special education and student services and all elementary, middle and high schools.
“Vital to the success of this position is the ability to anticipate considerations for the instructional program, implement strong cycles of continuous improvement to ensure academic progress, and oversee effective fiscal and personnel management necessary to support a growing population of more than 90,000 students and 100 schools,” the Prince William announcement said.
