~from the Henderson Gleaner, Aug. 3, 2014
by Erin Schmitt
Hometown girls who made good. And devoted educators who have worked their way from the classroom to central office.
Marganna Stanley, Rachel Yarbrough and Patricia Sheffer share more than a few similarities in their careers.
Their parallel professional trajectories led all of them to the top position at each of the public school districts in Henderson, Webster and Union counties.
The 2014-15 school year will be a historic year for the Tri-county school systems. It’s the first time that Henderson, Union and Webster counties are all led by female superintendents.
Sheffer and Yarbrough are both the first women to serve as school superintendents — in Union and Webster counties respectively. Stanley is the second female superintendent in Henderson County, following more than a century after Betty Cheatham Muncaster’s three-year tenure began in 1906.
Out of the 173 school districts in Kentucky, 34 currently employ female superintendents, according to the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. Four of those superintendents, including Stanley, are beginning their first year as a superintendent.
Many of the female superintendents head up school systems in Western Kentucky. Aside from Stanley, Sheffer and Yarbrough, there are Mary Ann Gemmill with Christian County Schools, Tamara Smith with Fulton Independent Schools, Kim Harrison with Graves County Schools and Linda Zellich with Hopkins County Schools.
“It’s certainly a historic time for females who really want to lead school districts,” said Yarbrough. “I think more and more, you are seeing females who have cracked through that glass ceiling.”
Modern superintendents manage the day-to-day operations and oversee finances like their peers of yesteryear, but are also tasked with moving districts forward in a collaborative way to propel student learning, she said.
“I think that we feel like we’re all three strong instructional leaders because we’ve had the background of curriculum instruction assessment before stepping into the role of superintendent,” Sheffer said.
Sheffer is a Sturgis native and a 1986 graduate of Union County High School. She began her education career 23 years ago as volunteer at Uniontown Elementary and later a substitute teacher.
After earning a degree in early childhood education from Western Kentucky University, Sheffer taught at Uniontown for a decade. Her next role was as the principal of the alternative school that is now known as Union County Learning Academy.
She next moved to the central office, taking over as first curriculum specialist, then director of instruction and as assistant superintendent before becoming superintendent. She is in her fourth year as superintendent.
“Although I’m the first female superintendent,” Sheffer said that regardless of gender, the important thing is that “you’re committed to doing what’s best for students and you know your ultimate responsibility is to grow the district and make sure student achievement stays at the forefront.
“You really need to have a passion for excellence and to grow a great district. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.”
It’s a passion she shares with her fellow superintendents.
Henderson’s Stanley was born in Minnesota but moved here at the age of 11. She’s a 1984 graduate of Henderson County High School.
She has spent her entire 24 year professional career with Henderson County Schools. Stanley was a teacher at Cairo Elementary for eight years before becoming Henderson’s coordinator for student programs.
In 2005 she was named principal at A.B. Chandler Elementary. She move back to the central office three years later following her promotion to assistant superintendent.
After being formally announced as the new superintendent this spring, Stanley said, “When I became principal at Chandler, I knew hands down that I wanted to be superintendent and only superintendent of Henderson County Schools. It’s the only place I applied. It’s the only place I would.”
All three women share a strong sense of pride for their school districts.
“When you put that Braves uniform on or that Webster County maroon and gold or the Henderson County Colonels, it means something to all of us that we represent our districts with a lot of integrity and roll our sleeves up and work as hard as we can on behalf of kids who are going to be attending those school districts,” said Yarbrough.
The Dixon native has deep roots in Webster County. Her father and maternal grandfather have both served on Webster County school boards.
The 1985 graduate of Webster County High School began her teaching career at Slaughters Elementary School. She would later serve as the guidance counselor at Slaughters and Sebree Elementary before becoming the latter school’s principal.
She acted as the assistant superintendent for Webster County Schools for nine years, leaving to take the superintendent position at Crittenden County Schools. Yarbrough returned home to Webster County as superintendent this spring after a six year absence from the district.
Many years ago, both Yarbrough and Stanley participated in an aspiring women superintendent group. About a dozen women from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee participated in the program.
Both women marveled at how, all these years later, they were both named superintendents in their native counties only a few months apart.
All the superintendents will see each other regularly as each county is a member of the Audubon Education Council along with Crittenden County and Henderson Community College. The trio have also talked about meeting monthly for discussions and to swap ideas.
“I think because of our leadership and who we are, we’ve always worked well together, respected each other, learned from each other and liked to talk ideas through with each other because we have like minds,” said Stanley.
They all agree that this next year should be an exciting one.
“It’s going to be fun to watch what happens in our districts together,” Yarbrough said. “We will certainly be sharing a similar journey.”
by Erin Schmitt
Hometown girls who made good. And devoted educators who have worked their way from the classroom to central office.
Marganna Stanley, Rachel Yarbrough and Patricia Sheffer share more than a few similarities in their careers.
Their parallel professional trajectories led all of them to the top position at each of the public school districts in Henderson, Webster and Union counties.
The 2014-15 school year will be a historic year for the Tri-county school systems. It’s the first time that Henderson, Union and Webster counties are all led by female superintendents.
Sheffer and Yarbrough are both the first women to serve as school superintendents — in Union and Webster counties respectively. Stanley is the second female superintendent in Henderson County, following more than a century after Betty Cheatham Muncaster’s three-year tenure began in 1906.
Out of the 173 school districts in Kentucky, 34 currently employ female superintendents, according to the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. Four of those superintendents, including Stanley, are beginning their first year as a superintendent.
Many of the female superintendents head up school systems in Western Kentucky. Aside from Stanley, Sheffer and Yarbrough, there are Mary Ann Gemmill with Christian County Schools, Tamara Smith with Fulton Independent Schools, Kim Harrison with Graves County Schools and Linda Zellich with Hopkins County Schools.
“It’s certainly a historic time for females who really want to lead school districts,” said Yarbrough. “I think more and more, you are seeing females who have cracked through that glass ceiling.”
Modern superintendents manage the day-to-day operations and oversee finances like their peers of yesteryear, but are also tasked with moving districts forward in a collaborative way to propel student learning, she said.
“I think that we feel like we’re all three strong instructional leaders because we’ve had the background of curriculum instruction assessment before stepping into the role of superintendent,” Sheffer said.
Sheffer is a Sturgis native and a 1986 graduate of Union County High School. She began her education career 23 years ago as volunteer at Uniontown Elementary and later a substitute teacher.
After earning a degree in early childhood education from Western Kentucky University, Sheffer taught at Uniontown for a decade. Her next role was as the principal of the alternative school that is now known as Union County Learning Academy.
She next moved to the central office, taking over as first curriculum specialist, then director of instruction and as assistant superintendent before becoming superintendent. She is in her fourth year as superintendent.
“Although I’m the first female superintendent,” Sheffer said that regardless of gender, the important thing is that “you’re committed to doing what’s best for students and you know your ultimate responsibility is to grow the district and make sure student achievement stays at the forefront.
“You really need to have a passion for excellence and to grow a great district. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.”
It’s a passion she shares with her fellow superintendents.
Henderson’s Stanley was born in Minnesota but moved here at the age of 11. She’s a 1984 graduate of Henderson County High School.
She has spent her entire 24 year professional career with Henderson County Schools. Stanley was a teacher at Cairo Elementary for eight years before becoming Henderson’s coordinator for student programs.
In 2005 she was named principal at A.B. Chandler Elementary. She move back to the central office three years later following her promotion to assistant superintendent.
After being formally announced as the new superintendent this spring, Stanley said, “When I became principal at Chandler, I knew hands down that I wanted to be superintendent and only superintendent of Henderson County Schools. It’s the only place I applied. It’s the only place I would.”
All three women share a strong sense of pride for their school districts.
“When you put that Braves uniform on or that Webster County maroon and gold or the Henderson County Colonels, it means something to all of us that we represent our districts with a lot of integrity and roll our sleeves up and work as hard as we can on behalf of kids who are going to be attending those school districts,” said Yarbrough.
The Dixon native has deep roots in Webster County. Her father and maternal grandfather have both served on Webster County school boards.
The 1985 graduate of Webster County High School began her teaching career at Slaughters Elementary School. She would later serve as the guidance counselor at Slaughters and Sebree Elementary before becoming the latter school’s principal.
She acted as the assistant superintendent for Webster County Schools for nine years, leaving to take the superintendent position at Crittenden County Schools. Yarbrough returned home to Webster County as superintendent this spring after a six year absence from the district.
Many years ago, both Yarbrough and Stanley participated in an aspiring women superintendent group. About a dozen women from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee participated in the program.
Both women marveled at how, all these years later, they were both named superintendents in their native counties only a few months apart.
All the superintendents will see each other regularly as each county is a member of the Audubon Education Council along with Crittenden County and Henderson Community College. The trio have also talked about meeting monthly for discussions and to swap ideas.
“I think because of our leadership and who we are, we’ve always worked well together, respected each other, learned from each other and liked to talk ideas through with each other because we have like minds,” said Stanley.
They all agree that this next year should be an exciting one.
“It’s going to be fun to watch what happens in our districts together,” Yarbrough said. “We will certainly be sharing a similar journey.”