NORFOLK, Va. — In a 4-3 decision, the Norfolk School Board voted in favor of terminating the district's superintendent, Dr. Sharon Byrdsong, during its meeting Wednesday.
The decision is effective immediately.
A large gathering was present at E. City Hall Avenue where the board met in support of Dr. Byrdsong. This comes after News 3 received a tip earlier Wednesday that there may be a vote to end terminate her contract with Norfolk Public Schools a year early. She was appointed as superintendent back in February 2020, and has been in a tenured position in the school district for 26 years.
The board voted to have Dr. James Pohl serve as interim superintendent. Dr. Pohl is currently listed on the district's website as its chief academic officer.
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It's unclear why the board voted to terminate Dr. Byrdsong's contract a year early. However, Kenneth Paulson, one of the three board members who voted against firing Dr. Byrdsong, stated, "I believe the decision is not rooted in education leadership, but in ancient personal vendettas."
Adale Martin, another board member who voted against Dr. Byrdsong's termination, stated, "Firing the superintendent at this time when we have the highly sensitive task of closing and consolidating schools is a distraction…"
The board members who voted to end her contract did not speak at the meeting.
Byrdsong was not at the meeting, but she shared a statement Wednesday evening announcing her departure, writing that it had been her "distinct honor and privilege to lead Norfolk Public Schools."
She highlighted the district's progress in recent years, including more competitive beginning salaries for classroom teachers, increased enrollment in preschool students and improved academic outcomes.
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"Considering such progress, why am I now poised to depart from my beloved Norfolk Public Schools?" Byrdsong wrote. "I will answer this question within the framework of my faith: 'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.' Quite simply, my faith tells me that there is a time when you know your season has concluded, when you know you have served your purpose. That time for me is now."
Her full statement is below.
It is with a heavy heart I share with you that I will no longer serve as the superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools. I share this news with mixed emotions, as I feel somewhat regretful to be leaving an organization for which I have tremendous love; however, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. Over the past six years, it has been my distinct honor and privilege to lead Norfolk Public Schools. Throughout my 26-year tenure with this exceptional school division, I have remained keenly aware that public education is a noble profession. With the exception of the family unit, there is no other force more critical for children in ensuring that they achieve to their highest potential than public education.
Early on in my career while serving as a classroom teacher, I realized the life-changing potential of my chosen profession. As a teacher, I would be responsible for encouraging students’ intellectual curiosity, competence, and confidence. It was imperative that I worked to equip them well as they moved toward futures of limitless possibilities. Today, as a departing superintendent, I can say unequivocally, it has been a blessing to facilitate this work on a division-wide level. The 5,600 teachers, administrators, and staff members of Norfolk Public Schools are everyday heroes who inspire, comfort, uplift, and simply love our precious 27,000 children each and every day. Any and every achievement accomplished during my tenure can be attributed to their support and dedication.
In Norfolk Public Schools, we lovingly and with great commitment use the refrain “No Matter What” as a promise that we will do whatever it takes to move children towards academic success as well as physical and social-emotional well-being. To guide our efforts, we utilized the strategies within our strategic plan, Continuing the Drive - Equity and Excellence for All, which we developed alongside our division stakeholders. Some of the outcomes of our “No Matter What” spirit included strategic action to ensure that every student has access to the Internet within their homes and a mobile device to support their learning. NPS is now a 1:1 student-to-device school division. We have more social-emotional learning supports to uplift our students than ever before; we have increased positions for school psychologists, social workers, school counselors, graduation coaches, and attendance technicians. We have invested in additional after-school clubs and activities for our students. We have worked to ensure the safety of our students and staff, from increasing security staff positions to installing a weapons detection system in every school. We even navigated the pandemic together - improving our use of technology and significantly improving the infrastructure and physical environments of our schools. Today, Norfolk Public Schools stands alone in Hampton Roads in continuing to provide a remote learning option through the NPS Virtual Scholars Academy. Academic outcomes for students have steadily improved over the past six years.
A focus on advancing childhood education and early literacy has resulted in increased enrollment in our preschool classrooms and improved readiness of our Pre-K students for
K-12 schooling. Our investments in instructional and social-emotional learning supports for some of our most vulnerable students, our students with disabilities and our English Learners, have resulted in improved student outcomes. We have worked to ensure that the division has the most competitive salaries. The beginning salary for classroom teachers has increased almost 30% during the past six-year period. We are especially proud to meaningfully engage our community back into our schools through our innovative Equity and Excellence Learning Centers that have increased the home-school-community partnership.
I would be remiss if I did not thank our families and the community for their unparalleled support. Families have worked with their children at home; cheered them on at countless sporting events and activities; supported myriad school-level events and extra-curricular opportunities for their children; and embraced our collaborative efforts, to include a new International Welcome Center for our English Learner families.
So, let me address this inevitable question: Considering such progress, why am I now poised to depart from my beloved Norfolk Public Schools? I will answer this question within the framework of my faith: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Quite simply, my faith tells me that there is a time when you know your season has concluded, when you know you have served your purpose. That time for me is now.
