Madison County Schools announces new superintendent. What we know

Madison County Schools has announced Ted Poore will serve as the new superintendent following the upcoming retirement of Charlotte Seals.

Effective immediately, Poore will step into the role of deputy superintendent and work closely under Seals, who recently announced her July 1, 2024, retirement. Seals served as superintendent for more than five years completing a 36-year career in education.

Announcing her retirement in a Facebook post on Nov. 8, Seals said the Madison County Board of Education had already begun the process of searching for a replacement.

In a Dec. 13 press release, Poore said he is "honored and humbled" to be chosen to serve as the next superintendent.

"I thank the Madison County Board of Education for their vote of confidence," Poore said. "Our District is an incredibly special place in which I've been blessed to serve for 26 years. The faculty and staff of our schools and our District office show up every day to do what is best and right for our students and families. I am honored to stand and serve alongside our stellar instructional and support staff."

Beyond a 10-year career on the Commission of School Accreditation for the Mississippi Department of Education, Poore has a long resume of working in Madison County public schools. In the '90s, he served as assistant principal and principal of Rosa Scott Middle School. He returned as Rosa Scott's principal when it became a ninth-grade school in 2004 after serving two years as principal of Madison Middle School.

Students of Rosa Scott may recognize the new superintendent's name as it adorns the road leading to the campus: Poore's Pass.

In 2011, Poore served briefly as the founding principal of Germantown High School before becoming the head of school at Park Place Christian Academy in Pearl, where he stayed from 2014 to 2019.

Poore returned to Madison County Schools to serve as assistant superintendent in 2019, a role he has held until today.

Poore has cemented himself in the Madison County community. He and his wife of more than 40 years, Carol Ann, are members of Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Ridgeland. They have three children who are alumni of Madison County Schools and six grandchildren.

Before his Madison County Schools career, Poore earned a master's degree from Delta State University and a degree in Educational Leadership from Mississippi College.

Madison County Schools Administrator of the Year, Mississippi Association of Secondary School Principals Middle Schools Principal of the Year, MASSP High School Principal of the Year and Mississippi Association of School Administrators High School Principal of the Year are all among Poore's extensive list of honors.

In the Dec. 13 press release, Sam Kelly, president of the Madison County Board of Education, said he looks forward to Poore's leadership continuing the success of Madison County Schools.

"We are confident that Mr. Poore will continue to build on the tradition of excellence for which our district is known," Kelly said. "Everyone who has worked with Mr. Poore can attest to his dedication as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent in our district."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ted Poore Madison County MS Superintendent after Charlotte Seals retires