Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter, Ed.D., Superintendent of Hickman-Mills C-1 School District discusses progress and process in his district.

Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter, Ed.D., Superintendent of Hickman-Mills C-1 School District discusses progress and process in his district.

Host and producer, Donna Morrow Wolfe. Co-host and co-producer, Joseph Jackson.

Dennis L. Carpenter, Ed.D.

Dr. Dennis L. Carpenter, a native of Waynesboro, Georgia, has 18 years experience in public education. He was named Superintendent of the Hickman-Mills C-1 School District after serving as a Senior Level School District Administrator for the past six years. In his previous assignment, Dr. Carpenter served as Deputy Superintendent for Operations in a metropolitan district of over 19,000 students. In this capacity Dr. Carpenter served on the Superintendent’s Executive Leadership Team and was responsible for the budget, finance, human resources, capital projects, transportation, purchasing, plant services and school nutrition functions in the district. In addition to being versed in the area of district operations, Dr. Carpenter has always taken an active role, at the executive level, in matters relative to curriculum and instruction. A former Superintendent, named state curriculum leader of the year, stated in reference to Dr. Carpenter, “I have worked with few others who have a command of both the Operations and Instructional sides of a school system.”

Prior to serving as Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Carpenter served as Associate Superintendent for Human Resources. During this time Dr. Carpenter managed human resources administration in a district of more than 2600 employees, increased the highly qualified teacher percentage to the highest in the district since the inception of the NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher requirement, and achieved 100% highly qualified status within the district’s paraprofessional workforce. He also streamlined the hiring and substitute teacher placement functions in the department via the implementation of online systems.

Dr. Carpenter’s efforts in the area of improving student achievement are evidenced in his track record as a building leader. During his eight year tenure in building level administration Dr. Carpenter’s achievements were many, including the following:

Developed a nationally recognized community-based mobile computer lab tutoring and summer enrichment program.
Led efforts in the district, in Partnership with district officials and university faculty/staff that resulted in the formation of the first P-16 Professional Development District in the region.
Implemented a state recognized parental involvement program that included membership in the National Network of Partnership Schools at John Hopkins University.
Awarded Georgia 2005 Gold School Status and Georgia 2006 Bronze School Status for highest performance and greatest gains in student achievement.
Increased school performance on Georgia’s Fifth Grade Writing Assessment from last amongst the district’s nine elementary schools to first amongst the same group; exceeding the state average.

In addition to recognition that Dr. Carpenter has received on behalf of the schools and districts he has served, he also has many individual accomplishments in the field of Education. Dr. Carpenter holds the following degrees:
B.S. Degree in Early Childhood Education (Georgia Southern University)
M.Ed. Degree in Administration and Supervision (Augusta State University)
Ed.S. Degree in Educational Leadership (Georgia Southern University)
Ed.D. Degree in Educational Administration (Georgia Southern University)

Dr. Carpenter is a 2005 National Network for Educational Renewal Scholar, a 2005 Graduate of Georgia’s Leadership Institute for School Improvement, a 2007 Georgia School Superintendents Association Human Resources Institute Graduate, a 2009 Leadership Newton County Graduate, a 2009 Georgia Department of Education /Georgia School Superintendents Association Superintendents Professional Development Program Graduate (one of twenty-five in the state) and a 2010 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Emerging Leader (one of thirty selected from across the nation).

Dr. Carpenter has many professional and civic affiliations at the national, state and local levels. He is an active member of ASCD, an immediate past member of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education Advisory Board, and a Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Covington. He recently served on the Board of Directors for the Newton County Arts Association and the United Way of Newton County.

In his spare time Dr. Carpenter enjoys fishing, gardening and spending time with his family and friends. He is married to Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter and they have two beautiful children: Landen Drake Carpenter and Layla Dee Carpenter.

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