Dr. Lorraine Lange stands next to an art piece given to her by her fellow staff members at Hardy Road Elementary, now W.E. Cundiff Elementary. Lange worked as an assistant principal there (she is represented as the blonde in the tree trunk) before accepting a position as principal at Mount Vernon Elementary School in southwest County. Each staff member lent a thumbprint to be used as his or her caricature's face. The art piece has hung on the wall in each of Lange's offices since. --Avery Eliades, special to So Salem

Dr. Lorraine Lange has been named one of four finalists for the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year Program by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). Lange was named Virginia Superintendent of the Year in May of 2011.

Lange joins superintendents from North Carolina, Nevada and Delaware. The National Superintendent of the Year will be announced on Feb. 16, 2012, according to an AASA news release.

From the AASA news release, submitted by Chuck Lionberger:

Lorraine Lange, superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools, Roanoke, Va.

Lorraine Lange began her educational career in 1969 as a special education teacher.  Lange was named superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools in June 2006.  She led the effort to develop and implement a laptop initiative which has helped close the socioeconomic gap and level the playing field so all high school students have access to the same technological resources by assigning a laptop to every high school student personalized to meet their needs. The success of this program is evidenced by the school system’s On-Time Graduation Rate:  91.8 percent for 2010, up 2 percent from 2009 and exceeding the statewide average of 86.6 percent.

Lange holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Roanoke College, a Master’s Degree from Hollins University and a Doctorate from Virginia Tech. She has held the positions of kindergarten teacher, assistant principal, principal, supervisor of language arts K-12, associate director of instruction, assistant superintendent of instruction and deputy superintendent of instruction.  She is a former adjunct professor at Hollins University and Roanoke College where she taught aspiring teachers.

Read on for the full release from AASA.

–Avery Eliades, special to So Salem

Four Finalists Selected for the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year Program

Finalists selected from 49 state-level winners; Program celebrates 25th year

ALEXANDRIA, Va., January 3, 2012 – The American Association of School Administrators has announced four finalists in the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year program. The program, co-sponsored by ARAMARK Education, ING and AASA is celebrating its 25th year honoring the contributions and leadership of public school superintendents. AASA will announce the 2012 National Superintendent of the Year on Feb. 16, 2012, at the National Conference on Education in Houston, Texas.

The four finalists for 2012 AASA National Superintendent of the Year are:

• Diane L. Frost, superintendent, Asheboro City Schools, Asheboro, N.C.
• Heath Morrison, superintendent, Washoe County School District¸ Reno, Nev.
• Lorraine Lange, superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools, Roanoke, Va.
• Susan Smith Bunting, superintendent, Indian River School District, Selbyville, Del.

“AASA is pleased to recognize these four outstanding superintendents,” said AASA Executive Director Daniel A. Domenech. “Their dedication to transforming schools, providing quality education for all students and working with the school community to advance student success represents the best in school system leadership today.”

“We congratulate the four Finalists, all of the State winners and AASA for their ongoing leadership, innovation and commitment to excellence in education,” said Dennis Maple, President, ARAMARK Education.  “As a founding sponsor of the National Superintendent of the Year program, all of us at ARAMARK are happy and proud to be celebrating its Silver Anniversary, and we thank all of the talented superintendents who have been dedicated to advancing student achievement and creating positive student learning environments over the past 25 years.”

“ING is proud to sponsor the 25th anniversary of the National Superintendent of the Year program and extends our congratulations to the national finalists and all the state winners,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation. “We are committed to education, and honoring the superior leadership of our public school superintendents for their efforts in advancing student achievement and positively influencing our youth is one way we can support excellence in education.”

The four national finalists were chosen from 49 State Superintendent of the Year finalists. The finalists will be at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10, 2012, where they will be interviewed by a national blue-ribbon selection panel of educators, businesspeople and government officials.  The finalists are:

Diane L. Frost, superintendent, Asheboro City Schools, Asheboro, N.C.

Diane Frost is currently in her 35th year in public education, with the past 20 years in Asheboro City Schools. She was named Assistant Superintendent in 1995 and Superintendent in 2000.  Strategic planning and community engagement are hallmarks of Dr. Frost’s tenure with Asheboro City Schools. Leading the district through multiple strategic planning processes has unified the community around setting high expectations for all students and providing the tools needed to accomplish this goal. Her collaborative leadership style, creativity, and fierce determination to produce globally competitive students have resulted in a sharply narrowed mathematics achievement gap and a record-high graduation rate (84%).

Frost earned her bachelor and master degrees from the University of Nebraska and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Both universities have honored her with their Alumni Achievement Award. She served on the governing board for the American Association of School Administrators and is the NC State Textbook Commission chairman, appointed by the Governor.

Heath Morrison, superintendent, Washoe County School District¸Reno, Nev.

Heath Morrison has been superintendent for Washoe County School District since 2009.   Despite the fact that Nevada’s once-booming economy was in steep decline, Morrison led the community in the development of the District’s five-year strategic plan. Between 2009 and 2011, the District’s graduation rate jumped from 56 percent to 70 percent with increases in every student subgroup. The district also has achieved significant test score gains and has narrowed the achievement gap in many subject areas.

Morrison holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning and a Master of Educational Administration from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of the Arts in government from the College of William and Mary. Before coming to Nevada, Morrison was community superintendent for the Down County Consortium in Montgomery County Public Schools, Md. Morrison has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the 2012 Leadership through Communication Award from AASA, NSPRA, and Blackboard Connect and the Distinguished Educational Leader Award from the Washington Post.

Lorraine Lange, superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools, Roanoke, Va.

Lorraine Lange began her educational career in 1969 as a special education teacher.  Lange was named superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools in June 2006.  She led the effort to develop and implement a laptop initiative which has helped close the socioeconomic gap and level the playing field so all high school students have access to the same technological resources by assigning a laptop to every high school student personalized to meet their needs. The success of this program is evidenced by the school system’s On-Time Graduation Rate:  91.8 percent for 2010, up 2 percent from 2009 and exceeding the statewide average of 86.6 percent.

Lange holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Roanoke College, a Master’s Degree from Hollins University and a Doctorate from Virginia Tech. She has held the positions of kindergarten teacher, assistant principal, principal, supervisor of language arts K-12, associate director of instruction, assistant superintendent of instruction and deputy superintendent of instruction.  She is a former adjunct professor at Hollins University and Roanoke College where she taught aspiring teachers.

Susan Smith Bunting, superintendent, Indian River School District, Selbyville, Del.

Susan Bunting is currently serving in her sixth year as superintendent of the Indian River School District. Bunting has articulated a clear vision that has molded the district into an exemplary system with programs that school and district leaders from Delaware and surrounding regions have sought to replicate. Under her leadership, Indian River was selected as one of the original participants in Delaware’s Vision 2015 initiative and has become a trailblazer in Delaware’s Race to the Top. In 2011, IRSD’s students scored first, second, and third in reading, math, science and social studies in the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System, and all fourteen IRSD schools are ranked “Superior” in Delaware’s accountability system.

Bunting earned her B.S. in psychology and elementary education from The American University, a Masters in Education from Salisbury University, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from the University of Delaware.   Additionally, she attended Harvard’s Principals’ Academy and completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.  She received the University of Delaware’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 1999 and 2008, AASA’s Civic Star Award and NSBA’s Magna Award in 2003, and Delaware Superstar in Education recognition in 2000, 2006, 2009, and 2010.

The annual Superintendent of the Year program is open to all U.S., Canadian, and International School superintendents who plan to continue in the profession. The applicants were measured against the following criteria:

• Leadership for learning – creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system.
• Communication – strength in both personal and organizational communication.
• Professionalism – constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team.
• Community involvement – active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues.

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the National Superintendent of the Year to a student in the high school from which the superintendent graduated, or the school now serving the same area.

The National Superintendent of the Year will receive a jacket emblazoned with the National Superintendent of the Year emblem and, with the three other national finalists, will be recognized at the AASA National Conference on Education on Feb. 16, 2012, during the ceremony announcing the National Superintendent of the Year.

The 49 state-level, Canadian and international winners will also be honored at the AASA National Conference on Education. The winners are:

Alabama: Larry E. DiChiara    Phenix City Public Schools
Alaska: Jim Nygaard    Cordova School District
Arizona: Calvin Baker      Vail Unified School District
Arkansas: Kay Johnson    Greenwood School District
California: Sandra Sanchez Thorstenson     Whittier Union High School District
Colorado: Charlotte Ciancio    Mapleton Public Schools
Connecticut: Diane Ullman    Simsbury Public Schools
Delaware: Susan Smith Bunting    Indian River School District
Florida: Wallace  P. Cox    School Board of Highlands County
Georgia: Emily Lembeck    Marietta City Schools
Idaho: Mary Vagner    Pocatello/Chubbuck  School District 25
Illinois: Peter Flynn    Freeport School District 145
Indiana: Jerry Thacker     Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation
Iowa: Kathleen S. Mulholland     Linn-Mar Community School District
Kansas: Michael Mathes     Seaman Unified School District  345
Kentucky: Lu Settles Young    Jessamine County Schools
Louisiana: Wayne R. Savoy    Calcasieu Parish Public Schools
Maine: Suzanne T. Godin    South Portland School Department
Maryland: Karen Salmon    Talbot County Public Schools
Massachusetts: Maureen LaCroix    Bedford Public Schools
Michigan: Tina A. Kerr    Coldwater Community Schools
Minnesota: Lynn Christopher Richardson    Northfield Public Schools ISD 659
Mississippi: Malcolm Kuykendall    Tishomingo County School District
Missouri: Terry Adams    Wentzville R-IV School District
Montana: Daniel T. Farr    Sidney Public Schools
Nebraska: Bill  Mowinkel    Northwest Public Schools
Nevada: Heath Morrison     Washoe County School District
New Hampshire: Elaine F. Cutler    Litchfield School District
New Jersey: Roy R. Montesano    Ramsey Public Schools
New Mexico: J. Mike Phipps     Artesia Public Schools
New York: Henry L. Grishman     Jericho Union Free School District
North Carolina: Diane L. Frost    Asheboro City Schools
North Dakota: Richard J. Buresh     Fargo Public Schools
Ohio: Gene T. Harris    Columbus City Schools
Oklahoma: Robert Everett    Newcastle Public Schools
Oregon: Ronald D. Wilkinson     Bend-La Pine Schools
Pennsylvania: Patrick T. O’Toole     Upper St. Clair School District
Rhode Island: Donna M. Ottaviano    North Providence School District
South Carolina: Joseph R. Pye    Dorchester School District 2
South Dakota: Mark Greguson    Chester Area Schools
Tennessee: Kathleen M. Airhart     Putnam County School System
Texas: Jeffrey Turner    Coppell Independent School District
Utah: Jim Johnson    Iron County School District
Vermont: Jeanne Collins    Burlington School District 15
Virginia: Lorraine S. Lange    Roanoke County Schools
Washington: Patricia Anne Banks     University Place School District 83
West Virginia: Larry Edwin Parsons    Preston County Schools
Wisconsin: Kristine A. Gilmore    D.C. Everest Area School District
Wyoming: Paul Grube    Sweetwater County School District 1
Canada: Linda Fabi    Waterloo Region District School Board, Ontario
Canada: Curtis Brown    South Slave Divisional Educational Council, Northwest Territories
International  Schools: Richard Spradling    American School of The Hague, Netherlands