The Curry School’s degree programs in administration and supervision prepare educational leaders for the public schools of the state and the nation. The quality of our programs was affirmed last year by our alumni showing among those chosen as the best school superintendents in Virginia.
Frederick S. Morton IV (B.S. ’75, Health & PE; M.Ed. ’79, Admin & Supv), was named 2010 Virginia Superintendent of the Year, and four of the seven remaining regional Superintendents of the Year hailed from Curry as well.
Morton, superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools (Region 1), was selected by the state superintendent of public instruction and the officers of four Virginia education organizations as the state winner from the eight regional Superintendents of the Year, who were chosen from the entire field of 133 superintendents in Virginia.
In presenting him with the award, Don Ford, president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, said, “Fred Morton has always been a ‘champion of the underdog’—the student who never had the opportunity or the recognition or the attention he or she needed to succeed in school.
As superintendent of Henrico County Schools, one of the largest and most diverse school divisions in the state, Fred made it his mission to help the students who needed it the most.”
Morton has worked as the chief educational officer in Henrico County Public Schools since 2004. Prior to becoming Henrico’s superintendent, he was superintendent of Montgomery County Schools in Blacksburg, Va. He held other public education positions in Virginia as well, having been the principal of Western Albemarle High School in Albemarle County and the principal of Covington High School in Covington.
Other 2010 regional Superintendents of the Year who are alumni of the Curry School included the following:
Region 3
Richard W. Layman (Ed.D. ’00)
King & Queen County Public Schools
Region 5
Roger D. Collins (M.Ed. ’86)
Nelson County Public Schools
Region 6
William Edward Graham, Jr. (M.Ed. ’77)
Covington City Public Schools
Region 8
Philip L. Worrell (B.S. ’75, M.Ed. ’79)
Greensville/Emporia Public Schools
The 2009 cohort of regional Superintendents of the Year included two Curry alumni:
Region 3
Elaine Fogliani (M.Ed. ’74, Engl Ed; Ph.D. ’90, Admin & Supv)
Westmoreland County Public Schools
Region 5
Thomas W. D. Smith (Ed.D. ’88, Admin & Supv)
Fluvanna County Public Schools
by Lynn Bell
