Date set for superintendent interviews

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Elizabethton Board of Education has decided to interview three candidates for the next superintendent of Elizabethton City Schools.

The board will be conducting interviews on May 9 beginning at 9 a.m. at the city school’s central office.

Candidates that will be interviewed are current interim superintendent Corey Gardenhour, Myles Hebrard and Blair Henley.

  •  Gardenhour has worked with the ECS since 2006, starting as principal of West Side Elementary. He has worked also as director of alternative services, special education, special education transportation, personnel, pre-K-12 curriculum and instruction, response to intervention, guidance services, technology, testing k-12, early learning services, health and nursing services and data services and accountability.

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Gardenhour received his bachelor’s of science in biology and chemistry and master’s in education from Milligan College. He received an education specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University in education administration and supervision and a doctorate in education from East Tennessee State University in education leadership and policy analysis.

  •  Hebrard, of Powell, Tenn., is principal of Claxton Elementary School in Anderson County, where he has served since 2008. Before that, he was a pre-engineering teacher for seventh and eighth grade, and an eighth-grade algebra and math teacher at Clinton Middle School in Anderson County from 2003-2008.

Hebrard has a bachelor’s degree business administration from the University of Charleston. He received a master’s degree in special education, an education specialist degree in special education and administrative licensure in educational leadership and supervision from the University of Tennessee.

  •  Henley, of Bristol, Tenn., has served as the vice president of information services/chief technology officer at Tusculum College since June 2011 and as director of technology for the Niswonger Foundation’s Northeast College and Career Ready Consortium since 2010. Henley has worked also as the career and technical education supervisor for Bristol Tennessee City School from 2003-2011; adjunct faculty at ETSU from 2008-2011; systems engineer with Intellithought Inc, in Kingsport from 2001-2003 and computer science teacher at Elizabethton High School from 1997-2001.

Henley has a bachelor’s degree from ETSU, a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from ETSU.

Board member Tyler Fleming reported hearing only good comments for the three candidates to be interviewed when checking references.

“For these candidates, the only remarks I received were positive ones,” Fleming said. “For Dr. Gardenhour, I haven’t heard a negative comment from any of the staff when I have asked about him, and that is rare.”

Board members Susan Peters and Phil Isaacs agreed with Fleming on who should be interviewed for the job.

Board Chairwoman Rita Booher brought board member Grover May’s recommendations to the board. May was unable to attend the workshop due to work conflicts, but according to Booher, he agreed with the same three candidates for the interviews.

“We have a group of good candidates here,” Booher said.

For the interviews, the group agreed to start at 9 a.m. with Henley, followed by Hebrard at 10:30 a.m. and then Gardenhour at 1 p.m. on May 9. Hebrard and Henley will also be given opportunities to tour the school system facilities that day.