Kentucky School Advocate
June 2022

New superintendents hired        

Danville Ind.
The Danville Ind. board has hired Greg Ross, principal of Fayette County’s The Academy for Leadership at Millcreek Elementary, as superintendent.

His prior roles include director of the Division of Next Generation Professionals for KDE; principal at Paducah Independent, where he served as assistant principal at Morgan Elementary and principal at McNabb Elementary; teacher for Jefferson Co. Schools and Paducah Ind.; and athletic director/basketball coach/teacher at Christian Fellowship School.

He also served as the 2013-14 director of KDE’s Minority Superintendent Program. Ross received his bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts and has two master’s degrees from Murray State. He received his doctoral degree from Western Kentucky.

“Our instruction is going to be top-notch,” Ross said at an event welcoming him to the district. “No parent or student is going to want to leave and go to another district. In fact, many of them are going to want to come to us.”

The board received 19 applications which it narrowed to two finalists.

Board chairman Steve Becker said part of what made Ross stand out was that he’s looking to make Danville his home, not a stepping stone.

“We are so pleased he is with us – a very impressive man who has had a fantastic educational career,” Becker said.

Crittenden Co.
Crittenden Co. Schools Assistant Superintendent Tonya Driver has been hired as the district’s superintendent, replacing Vince Clark, who is retiring.

Driver has been assistant superintendent since 2018 and has spent all but two years of her career as an educator at Crittenden Co., where she began as a teacher in 1992. She also served as gifted and talented coordinator, assistant principal and supervisor of curriculum and instruction.

Board chairman Chris Cook said the combination of Driver’s experience and her commitment to the district’s success made her the ideal candidate.

“Tonya Driver’s demeanor, experience, and expertise coupled with her unwavering dedication to and passion for our students, staff and community give her the skills and fervor to effectively lead our district,” Cook said. “Our board came together in this decision and unanimously took the next intentional, logical and natural step in the progression of our district’s leadership.”

Driver, a Crittenden Co. graduate, said she is humbled by the confidence placed in her by the board and plans to build upon the district’s successes.

“The students are the heart of this district and always will be the focal point of any decisions we, as a team, collectively make,” she said. “Our district is blessed to have leaders with specific talents and strengths, all of whom work together to help our Rockets reach new heights.”

Caverna Ind.
The Caverna Ind. board has selected Assistant Superintendent Amanda Abell as the next superintendent. She will succeed Cornelius Faulkner.

“I really appreciate the board, and I appreciate you all for believing in me,” Abell said in the Hart Co. News-Herald. “If I promise you anything, it will be that I will fight for our kids to have opportunities until they see their own potential and believe in themselves … and if we make that happen, then look at what we’ve done for our kids.”

Abell began her career in 1999 as a teacher in the Green Co. School District. She also served as associate director of district support at the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative and has been at Caverna for seven years.

Board chairman Wayne Hatcher said that Abell has proven herself and the board has full faith in her.

“This is our most important job, to choose our superintendent and also monitor that person, and we took very deep diligence,” Hatcher said. “We were dedicated to finding the right person, and I believe we have found the right person.”

Abell holds a master’s degree in instructional leadership, a bachelor’s degree in education and superintendent certification.

She told the Bowling Green Daily News that being chosen as the district’s first female superintendent has made her aware that more females are willing to take on the role.

“I am glad more females are being selected to take the lead in school districts,” she said. “Hopefully, I will serve as a role model for students interested in going into education and for teachers considering a role in leadership.”