Fauquier County Public Schools
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2017
Karen Parkinson, Coordinator of Information
Phone (540) 422-7031
[email protected]
DAVID JECK NAMED REGION IV SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR
The Region IV Virginia Association of
School Superintendents (VASS) has named
Dr. David Jeck, superintendent of Fauquier
County Public Schools, as the 2018 Superintendent of the Year for Region IV. Dr. Peter
Noonan, superintendent of the City of Fairfax Schools and chairman of Region IV VASS,
made the announcement on March 22.
“As the regional superintendent’s group, we are so proud of the work
Dr. Jeck does and he serves as an outstanding representative of our team,” Noonan
said.
Region IV includes 19 school divisions in Northern Virginia: Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper,
Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock,
Shenandoah and Warren counties and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Manassas, Manassas
Park and Winchester. There are eight VASS regions in Virginia; each regional superintendent of
the year will be honored at the VASS annual conference May 7-9, 2017 in Roanoke, and the Virginia Superintendent of the Year will be chosen from the eight regional honorees, who represent
133 division superintendents statewide.
Brian Gorg, chairman of the Fauquier County School Board, said Dr. Jeck has been an exemplary educational and community leader since the day he came to Fauquier County in 2013.
“He epitomizes the role of a servant-leader and is a consistent agent for positive change,”
said Gorg. “Teachers, parents, support staff and students across Fauquier County would agree
that his communication style and boldness are a significant part of the academic success our division is experiencing. Our board is absolutely thrilled for Dr. Jeck’s selection as Region IV Superintendent of the Year, but based on his character and the results under his leadership, we are not
all that surprised. We get to see his leadership in action every day and are the beneficiary of all
his efforts.”
Upon learning of the award, Dr. Jeck said, “Any time you receive recognition from your
colleagues, it takes on additional, special meaning. There are so many outstanding leaders in our
region – truly great and innovative administrators. This award is very, very humbling.”
He said he regarded his regional recognition as a tribute to Fauquier County’s teachers
and students.
“Everything good that happens in our school division happens primarily because of our
teachers and our kids. I’m a lot further down the list,” he said.
Major Warner, principal of Kettle Run High School and newly selected associate superintendent for instruction for FCPS, said he has been “privileged” to serve as one of Dr. Jeck’s principals since his arrival.
“I have connected with his collaborative leadership style and ability to build consensus on
critical topics. He has welcomed our input and challenged us to be bold and creative on behalf of
our students,” he said. As the incoming associate superintendent for instruction Warner said he
is excited to work with Dr. Jeck. “I believe in his vision for our students, our schools and our division,” he said. “He has an unwavering belief in what an engaging classroom should look and feel
like for our students in the 21st century. He is honest and courageous, and I love the fact that he
puts kids first and keeps them at the center of every decision he makes. We are truly blessed to
have him as our superintendent.”
Dr. Mark Ginsberg, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George
Mason University, wrote this after reviewing Dr. Jeck’s packet during the selection process: “Dr.
Jeck … inspires and motivates the staff of his division. He continually reinforces his personnel to
‘stretch’ so that their students learn and develop.” Dr. Ginsberg pointed to Dr. Jeck’s own words
regarding his methods of motivation: “The steady drum beat from my office includes phrases like
take chances, do the unexpected, get outside of your comfort zone, be creative, be bold, be awesome because you can accomplish anything. I want my staff to be creative, to think outside of the
box, to take risks to be inventive,” Jeck said.
Dr. Ginsberg continued, “Our staffs are our ‘secret sauce’ that yield success, and Dr. Jeck’s
demonstrated ability to lead in ways that embrace motivation for excellence is most impressive."
In his four years as the superintendent of Fauquier County Public Schools, Dr. Jeck has
implemented a number of initiatives. Among them:
 Working to engage parents, students and the public through biannual school quality surveys, meeting quarterly with a student advisory council at each high school and monthly
with a teachers’ advisory group and a parent group, routinely using social media to share
school events and student and staff achievements, initiating a weekly online video entitled “One Hard Question” as a means to address concerns and explain decisions, developing working relationships with county government and community members, and recently attending the National Family Engagement Summit, to name a few
 Working to support and encourage employees by presenting weekly Rising Tide Awards
in honor of one certified and one classified employee who go above and beyond the call
of duty
 Working actively with the Fauquier Excellence in Education Foundation to benefit teachers and students
 Bolstering student confidence in higher-level work by encouraging all middle school students to complete algebra (now in record numbers)
 Increasing the number of AP students taking AP tests, ultimately reaching the highest
number of FCPS students taking the largest number of AP tests since numbers were first
charted in 1998
 Improving Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores resulting in the school division’s placing
in the top tier among 15 Northern Virginia school divisions
 Working to address mental health and substance abuse issues among youth in the community through a Project Aware grant to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
across the community (approximately 700 adults have been trained) and hosting a community meeting specifically to initiate discussion with other organizations regarding substance abuse prevention, education and treatment, including representatives from law
enforcement, community organizations, the Mental Health Association, and the faith
community
 Forming a purposeful partnership with the local hospital’s PATH Foundation, leading to a
$600,000 FRESH grant from the foundation resulting in a comprehensive wellness program in our schools
 Instigating the surprise publication of a 236-page book entitled Trust, Care, Believe, Belong, filled with essays written by the his leadership team (senior staff members, principals and assistant principals from the school division’s 20 schools, instructional supervisors, etc.). “This book is unlike any other book ever produced, which was the idea from
the beginning,” Dr. Jeck wrote in the book’s acknowledgements. “Members of the leadership team were given a writing assignment, not knowing that their submittals would
end up in this book. Even in the midst of the complaining and gnashing of teeth, I was
encouraged and consistently inspired by what I read.” Each member wrote an essay on
one of five education or leadership-related topics assigned by the superintendent. The
book had a profound impact on his leadership team and others in the division.
 Implementing the COPsync911 threat-alert system, in partnership with the Fauquier
County Sheriff’s Office, enabling school personnel – including teachers in their classrooms
– to communicate immediately with law enforcement during an intruder or other emergency incident
 Prompting a full-scale emergency response (intruder) exercise in conjunction with local
law enforcement, fire and rescue, and hospital in partnership with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
 Introducing the Virginia Preschool Initiative program, a free preschool program for at-risk
four-year-olds, expanding the program to four elementary schools and offering workshops focused on assisting parents in readying students for school
 Improving digital equity, especially within rural areas in the division, by partnering with
Kajeet to allow FCPS students to check out SmartSpot devices – Wi-Fi hotspots – to gain
mobile access to educational resources on the Internet
 Increasing on-time graduation rate, most recently to a record-high 95.1 percent in 2016,
ranking FCPS 22nd out of 132 school divisions in the Commonwealth, and increased ontime graduation rate for FCPS students with disabilities (95.9 percent in 2016, well above
the state rate of 86 percent).
Under Dr. Jeck’s leadership the school division, teachers and students have received numerous accolades:
 Trailblazer Award for efforts in implementing Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports
(VTSS), a data-driven decision-making framework for establishing the academic, behavioral and social/emotional supports needed for a school to be an effective learning
environment for all students.
 Selection of FCPS teachers for multiple awards including Virginia State Art Educator
of the Year, Virginia Middle School Association’s “Master of the Middle” Teacher of
the Year, and Virginia Art Education Association’s Elementary Art Educator of the
Year.
 Multiple national, regional and state awards for students in areas of academics, career and technical education, fine and performing arts, etc.
In addition, Dr. Jeck himself received the 2016 Pathfinder Award from the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals for his contributions to educational reform in elementary
and middle school education that enhanced the quality of education at those levels.
Dr. Jeck, 51, serves on a number of statewide boards and committees: VACORP Board of
Directors, Virginia School/University Partnership Board of Directors, Virginia K-12 Advisory Board
of Directors, VHSL Alignment Committee Chair, State SOQ/SOA Superintendents’ Work Group,
and Region IV VASS Treasurer. He has served as the superintendent of FCPS since May 2013. Before coming to Fauquier County, he spent five years as the superintendent of Greene County Public Schools. His 28-year career in education has also included time as a teacher, coach, middle
school assistant principal, high school principal, director of a technical education center, assistant
superintendent for instruction, and adjunct faculty member at both George Washington University and James Madison University.
Born and raised in Whittier, CA, he holds a bachelor of arts in social sciences and secondary education from Nyack College in New York, a master of education from the University of
Southern Mississippi and a doctor of education from the University of Virginia. He and his wife
Rhonda, an elementary school principal in Prince William County, have two children: David Jr., a
sous chef, and Caleb, a student at Appalachian State University.