During the monthly Bibb County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, September 16, 2021, Bibb County School District Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones Jr. announced plans to retire at the end of his contract term this school year. He is a National Superintendent of the Year and is well-known throughout the state and country for his leadership on public education matters.

“I am thankful to have had the humbling experience of being your Superintendent in Bibb. The past seven years have been the best years of my professional life, and it is because of you, our employees, students, parents, and community members. I thoroughly enjoyed the work we have done, the achievements we have accomplished and the relationships we have created. In my opinion, Bibb County is one of the best school districts in the state to work. Our teachers, leaders and staff care about students and our community, and I know how dedicated and hardworking our team is. I will miss this community and our VIP team greatly,” Dr. Jones said.

Click here for his message to staff.

“I have had the privilege to serve on the Board during the entire time Dr. Jones has been Superintendent here in Bibb County. Dr. Jones’ integrity and leadership has been instrumental in helping our school system achieve great things under the most difficult of circumstances,” Board President Daryl Morton said. “Dr. Jones’ recognition as 2019 National Superintendent of the Year speaks volumes about his ability to bring people together to support our schools and produce meaningful positive results for our children and our community.”

Dr. Jones first joined the Bibb County School District as Superintendent on April 6, 2015. He is a passionate educator dedicated to developing students as scholars, leaders, and good citizens. Using his classroom and administrative experiences, Dr. Jones developed the Bibb County School District’s strategic plan, “Victory in Our Schools.” The strategic plan has five goal areas: increasing student achievement, increasing student and stakeholder engagement, increasing teacher and leader effectiveness, being a reliable organization, and learning and growth. This plan drives the District’s continuous improvement efforts through shared accountability for all stakeholders and resource alignment.

Dr. Jones works to ensure the District’s instructional practices meet the needs of students and prepares them to be college or career ready. Early on, he established one of the District’s main priorities as “getting students reading on grade level.” Through his guidance, District administrators have addressed equity issues by ensuring students have access to similar instructional practices, interventions and supports. Additionally, the development of a District Literacy Plan has led to student growth on the Georgia Milestones Assessments and an increase in the percentage of students reading on grade level.

When he joined the District, Dr. Jones set one of his first long-term goals as raising the District’s graduation rate to 90 percent by 2025. The District has made great gains in improving its graduation rate, which was 58.9 per­cent in 2014 and rose to 79.4 percent in 2019 and 76.1 percent in 2020. The graduation rate for 2021 has not yet been released but is expected to maintain an upward trend.

Under Dr. Jones’ leadership, the Bibb County School District has been cited for its work to advance the District and its students. In 2017, the District received Georgia’s College Board Linking Award for having more than 80 percent of juniors and seniors utilizing Khan Academy for SAT preparation. The District also received the 2018 Digital School District Survey Award for Large Student Population Districts category, and its Board of Education has been named both a Distinguished and Exemplary Board by the Georgia School Boards Association. The District’s work with elementary schedules was featured in District Management Journal, in an article titled “Raising Achievement and Addressing Equity at Bibb County Schools” and the District was featured as a case study with K12 Insight for its work in improving stakeholder communications through its use of the Let’s Talk! platform.

Dr. Jones is a past governing board member for The School Superintendents Association (AASA) and past president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA). GSSA awarded him the President’s Award in 2012 and the Bill Barr Leadership Award in 2016. In October 2018, Dr. Jones received the AdvancED Excellence in Education Award for the state of Georgia for his role in leading efforts to improve student learning and outcomes.

In December 2018, Dr. Jones was named 2019 Georgia Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA). Later that month, he was named one of four finalists for 2019 National Superintendent of the Year by The School Superintendents Association (AASA). In February 2019, at AASA’s National Conference on Education, Dr. Jones was named 2019 National Superintendent of the Year.

During his tenure in Bibb, he has led the way for infrastructure and technological improvements, creating equitable access to instructional and operational resources throughout the District. He has led two voter-approved Education Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (ESPLOST) campaigns, overseen the opening of six new school buildings and countless school renovation projects, and advocated for major technology improvements to ensure every child has access to the same high-quality technology resources at each school throughout the District. Along with the successful implementation of interactive technology devices, video cameras and audio technology in every classroom, under his lead the District has been able to provide one-to-one technology for students. These technology improvements have been key elements in the District’s goal of creating a personalized learning environment, allowing the District to conduct equitable virtual learning when needed, and ensuring students are prepared for college or a career after graduating high school.

Additionally, he has been committed to fostering a healthy, safe, and supportive learning environment conducive to the growth and development of every student. From a focus on safety and security, to the award-winning implementation of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework that supports strength of character, the District is striving to ensure positive learning experiences are occurring in each school. Under his leadership, the District’s partnership with the OneMacon Business Education Partnership (BEP) flourished and led to a community-supported districtwide implementation of The Leader in Me program to align with the community’s vision of developing students into successful members of the Macon-Bibb community – students who, as Dr. Jones underscores, understand the value of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship.

During his time as Superintendent, the District has achieved accreditation from AdvancED, now known as Cognia, and two schools – Skyview and Carter Elementary Schools – have been recognized as National ESEA Title I Schools of Distinction. Numerous leaders and staff members have been recognized at the state and national level, and many have even been invited to serve as leading representatives in panel discussions or presentations on how Bibb has demonstrated success.

While celebrating these achievements, Dr. Jones has continued to remain cognizant of the District’s fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. For the fifth year in a row in 2021, the Board approved the Superintendent’s budget that allowed for a reduction in the millage rate. Each approved budget has reflected the District’s continued commitment to providing a high-quality education and safe environment for the students of Bibb County.

One of the most challenging aspects of Dr. Jones’ career has been as an educational leader during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Jones has become a national leader in the conversation on education during the pandemic. He has served on various advisory committees at the state and national level, and has been featured in interviews with CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, among others.

Dr. Jones began his career in education as a JROTC instructor with the Griffin-Spalding County School System in Griffin. He became a high school principal and then advanced to assistant superintendent, then superintendent before coming to Bibb County. Before his educational career, Dr. Jones served in the United States Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned a doctorate degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

He is engaged in numerous professional and community organizations. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Macon and the Kiwanis Club of Macon. He serves on several community boards including those for the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Central Georgia.

Dr. Jones is married to Evelyn, a retired elementary school principal. They have three children and are the proud grandparents of two granddaughters and a grandson.