Superintendent Adkins on what comes next for Lee County schools

Lee County students get out of school for the summer on Thursday. After a year of changing classroom routines during the pandemic, what’s next for Lee County Schools?

Superintendent Dr. Greg Adkins says the School District of Lee County is one he absolutely loves and is eternally grateful to have served. But he acknowledges that there remains a lot of work to be done.

He says both interim superintendent Dr. Ken Savage and the eventual permanent superintendent will have to focus on overcoming the education gap resulting from the pandemic and preparing schools to fully reopen in the fall. Adkins urges parents to stay involved and says he believes the open-door policy will be making a comeback next year.

“We’ve certainly missed our parents being in buildings, we’ve missed our volunteers being in buildings,” Adkins said. “And I think as more people become vaccinated and more people get comfortable with going out without masks and things like that, I think we’re going to see parents back in schools.”

He also predicts technology will continue to play a bigger role in schools, due to how well he feels it was integrated during the pandemic.

“We literally went to a one-on-one platform, not just at a secondary level, but all the way down into elementary,” Adkins said. “So now, every kid is going to have a Chromebook or some type of technology.”

After a polarizing year, Adkins thinks the Lee County School Board needs to come together and work on its relationships internally and with the rest of the district.

“I think we have to continue to work together as a team,” Adkins said. “I mean, we have really an amazing group of individual administrators down here, some phenomenal teachers and school leaders. And I think they just need support from the district office and the governance team.”

Adkins’ last day on the job is June 30.