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Profile: VALERIE H. BRIDGES

Valerie Bridges was well aware that Edgecombe County Public Schools faced serious problems, including teacher shortages, poor academic performance and high absenteeism, when she landed the top job in 2017 as superintendent. The small, rural, high-poverty district in Tarboro, N.C., an hour east of Raleigh, had far less wealth than the schools she attended in Wake County, N.C., or those where she had worked in Greensboro, N.C.

“We’re a little district that keeps surprising people,” Bridges says proudly, having ushered in initiatives to address academic achievement, teacher turnover, student engagement and social-emotional learning. When she took over, eight of 14 schools had not met growth. Two years later, all but two were designated as “meeting or exceeding growth.”

For her work on districtwide reform, Bridges has earned a reputation of being “child-centered, committed and collaborative,” says Raymond Privott, school board chair. “When one door closes, she finds another way to make it happen,” he adds, citing a financial crisis that cropped up during her first year as superintendent.

When a $2 million gift to support a fledgling grow-your-own teachers program did not materialize, Bridges faced a choice of folding the program or finding $120,000 to support tuition costs for four college students who had been promised a teaching job upon graduation.

The superintendent’s full plate took on fund raising for the more than 5,400-student district. She visited businesses and community gatherings to share her dream of improved opportunities for students. Businesses gave gifts ranging from $500 to $10,000, and individuals added their pledges. This fall, four Edgecombe graduates began teaching in the district.

“When she speaks, you can hear the commitment in her voice,” Privott says.

Bridges’ tone grows animated when she talks about the design work behind an innovative micro-school that serves 30 middle and high school students through a more relevant curriculum and projects where students can explore their interests.

Most gratifying is observing the impact on students’ lives. In its first year, 30 micro-school students attended a leadership symposium where they described to a large audience of educators and government policymakers their school experiences, positive and negative. A Q&A followed.

“The principals and I were holding our breath as the questions began,” Bridges says, admitting she thought about interjecting when the questions became more difficult. Then, she recalls a magic moment when a student’s pensive expression gave way to a calm “Hmmm, I need to think about that.”

“The audience was in total suspense!” Bridges says.

Slowly, with poise and confidence, deliberately but from the heart, the high schooler talked about how the distinctive school helped him succeed.

“This was a young man who struggled academically and socially,” Bridges says. “(He) was on stage with an audience of seasoned educators, business leaders and educational leaders being phenomenal.”

Bursting with pride, she says she winked at her principals and thought to herself, “These are my babies.”

Although many observers see the district’s poverty and rural location as steep obstacles, Bridges focuses her gaze on the positives: her dedicated teachers and a community that cares about kids. She attends to aspects she can control, including her mindset.

“I know if we just give students the space and opportunity, they will amaze this world and make us all proud beyond measure,” Bridges says.