Rome City Schools Hires Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Literacy, and Learning
ROME, GA—The Rome City Schools Board has approved the hiring of Dr. Barbara Patrick-Lashley as the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Literacy, and Learning during a called Board meeting on November 10th, 2022.
“Rome City Schools is excited to work with Dr. Patrick-Lashley”, said Superintendent Dr. Eric L. Holland. “She will fill a big need in our district and for all students. Reading is the foundation on which we all build from.”
Most recently serving as Chief of Literacy on the senior cabinet of the Superintendent for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Patrick-Lashley began her tenure as a dedicated educator with Montgomery Public Schools and has 30+ years of productive experience in education, with a latter focus on leadership development. As Director of Elementary Literacy, Dr. Patrick-Lashley led the literacy initiative for 74 Metro Nashville Public Schools, resulting in literacy scores outpacing the state for the first time. Measuring Academic Progress (MAP) reading data results (2017-2019) out-paced national average in grades 3-8 (with exception of grade 5). As the first minority Director of Literacy for Metro Nashville Public Schools, Dr. Lashley established a cadre of Central Office Lead Literacy Coaches, of which she hired, trained, and developed an accountability system to support the district’s 74 elementary schools in coaching for implementation of Tier I literacy instruction.
A graduate of Alabama State University with honors, Dr. Patrick-Lashley started her career in
Early Childhood Education in Montgomery Public Schools, Montgomery, Alabama. She served as a literacy teacher for 10 years before becoming a reading facilitator for the Success for All Foundation, based out of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland. During this time, she received her Master of Science degree in Guidance & Counseling from Alabama State University, after which she served as a counselor for four years in Montgomery Public Schools. Dr. Patrick-Lashley served 5 years as the Senior Trainer at the Success for All Foundation training administrators and teachers in literacy nationwide, including the villages of Stebbins, Alaska for grades K-12.
After a productive tenure with the Success for All Foundation, Dr. Patrick-Lashley began working with Project GRAD Atlanta as the Director of Reading, serving Atlanta Public Schools, leading the implementation of reading reform and leadership for 26 schools. In an effort to serve Atlanta Public Schools, internally, she returned as the district Comprehensive School Reform Coordinator, leading 14 school reform initiatives. She was awarded the Visionary of the Year Award and certification from the Gurian Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a single-gender trainer.
As a participant of the Harvard Business School - Public Education Leadership Project (PELP), 2017, Dr. Patrick-Lashley received certification for completion of coursework within the Harvard Leadership Institute, aimed at identifying and developing a strategic plan for district problems of practice in literacy. Dr. Patrick-Lashley has served as a principal, focusing on instructional leadership. Her pursuit of passion for leadership led to her obtaining her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Argosy University.
Dr. Patrick-Lashley will begin her tenure as Assistant Superintendent of Rome City Schools on December 5th, 2022.
”We look forward to seeing the transformational opportunities Dr. Patrick-Lashley will bring to enhance students’ academic experiences and improve literacy outcomes throughout our system,” said Dr. Holland.