Wade Whitney elected to MASS Board of Directors

JACKSON ― Wade Whitney, superintendent of the George County School District, has been elected to the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents’ board of directors.

Since its founding in 1969, MASS has grown into a nationally recognized coalition that provides state-of-the-art training and mentoring programs for educators throughout Mississippi while advocating year-round for improved public schools. The association regularly evaluates the composition of its board to ensure it includes the appropriate skills, experience, and perspectives necessary to improve outreach and efficacy.

With a 34-year career invested in public education, Whitney will work with fellow directors to build a world-class education system for Mississippi by ensuring that education leaders statewide have access to high-quality, state-of-the-art training and professional development programs.

The board also ensures that MASS remains a strong voice for Mississippi’s public schools through awareness, advocacy, and engagement efforts with members of the State Legislature, the Mississippi Department of Education, and other groups.

“Mr. Whitney brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to MASS that relates directly to our mission of improving public education,” said Dr. Phil Burchfield, executive director for MASS. “Having so many outstanding education leaders across Mississippi has been a strategic advantage for MASS as we work to enhance our organization and programs.”

MASS also works aggressively with state leaders to develop more robust recruiting and hiring practices for public schools along with higher pay, stronger certification standards, and other incentives to build and strengthen Mississippi’s teacher workforce. The efforts of MASS and other education allies came to fruition in 2022 when Mississippi passed one of the largest teacher pay raises in state history.

“We’re always encouraged by the gains Mississippi has made in education, but we also understand that it requires continual focus and effort to keep the momentum going,” said Whitney. “I look forward to working with MASS to ensure that our public education system is preparing students for successful futures.”

The Mississippi Association of School Superintendents and the Alliance of Educational Leaders of Mississippi is a non-profit association whose membership is made up of 139 public school superintendents and more than 2,000 public school administrators. Its mission is to provide resources, advocacy, leadership, policy information, training, support, renewal, and public relations services that improve the quality of public education.

Learn more at www.superintendents.ms.

Superintendent Page

Wade Whitney, Jr.

Superintendent of Education

George County School District

5152 Main Street

Lucedale, MS  39452

601-947-6993 Phone


Mr. Wade Whitney, Jr. is a graduate of the University of South Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education in 1989. His certifications include Business and History. He also completed his Master of Science in 1995 from the University of South Alabama, with a degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision. 

 

Prior to becoming the principal of George County High School, Mr. Whitney spent twenty-five years in the Mobile County (AL) Public School System. While in Mobile, he served the district in a variety of roles: high school principal, middle school principal, assistant principal, athletic director, head football coach, Title I Facilitator, and classroom teacher. 

 

During his tenure as an administrator in Alabama, Mr. Whitney was identified by the Mobile County Public School System and the Alabama Department of Education as an Alabama Mentor Principal. This distinction allowed him to serve as an official mentor to new principals throughout the state.

 

Under his leadership, the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) recognized his schools as a Pacesetter School and a Golden Achievement School. He was also selected by SREB to serve on their National Administrators Advisory Council. 

 

Additionally, Mr. Whitney presented at several national conferences on topics such as the implementation of wall-to-wall career academies, administrative mentorship, using data meetings to drive instruction, and the role of the administration in developing a school climate of high expectations. He has also been fortunate enough to be recognized nationally by the National Education Trust and was asked to present in Washington D.C. on the topic of Positive School Transformation. 


Mr. Whitney is a member of the Lucedale Rotary Club and the George County Chamber of Commerce. He serves the Chamber as chairman of the Education Committee. 


Mr. Whitney completed his fourth year as principal at George County High School in December 2019. During his tenure, he led George County High School to back-to-back “A” rankings.  His instructional leadership revolutionized the school culture by implementing an intervention time that targets the Low Performing Students, Proficiency Scores, Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, State Test Remediation, and ACT Preparation. He also introduced the Mathematics and Literacy Design Collaborative, which has transformed formative assessment and instruction throughout the school.  On January 1, 2020, Mr. Whitney was appointed Superintendent of Education; the first to be appointed in the district. With anticipation of moving our district forward, Mr. Whitney has been working tirelessly in implementing the following into the George County School District: a culture shift, site visits, end of the quarter tests (common assessments), a COVID-19 Response Team, GC Leadership Academy, principal data meetings, and a central receiving warehouse. He has a firm belief in surrounding himself with expert directors that are proficient in their knowledge base. Mr. Whitney, along with his directors, have seen a vast shift in the culture of the district and highly anticipate growth in every area of the George County School District. 

 

His wife, Robin, is a retired educator of twenty-five years, and their daughter, Blakeley, is currently teaching in the Mountain Brook (AL) School District. The Whitney family enjoys all sports, traveling, and attending Auburn football games. 


VISION

George County School District

will become the ABSOLUTE

BEST school district in the ENTIRE

state of Mississippi. 


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