Superintendent-elect Dr. Bill Cook announced today the hiring of veteran Union Co. (N.C.) educator Dr. John Jones as Rock Hill Schools’ new Chief Academic and Accountability Officer.
Jones replaces Dr. Harriett Jaworowski, who resigned this month after 12 years as associate superintendent of instruction and accountability.
Originally from Chesterfield, S.C., Jones launched his professional career following his undergraduate studies at Wingate University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. He holds advanced degrees from the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University. Additionally, Jones completed the North Carolina Principals’ Executive Program.
Jones has served as a teacher and administrator at the elementary and middle school levels in North and South Carolina. As a teacher at Wesley Chapel Elementary School, he was named Teacher of the Year. He spent one year as the assistant principal at Wesley Chapel before opening Weddington Elementary School in 1996. After three years he returned to his hometown as principal of Jefferson Elementary for one year and then Cheraw Intermediate School. Jones returned to North Carolina in 2003 when he was named principal of Sun Valley Middle School. At Sun Valley, he established a framework for Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies, or PBIS, and organized professional learning communities, both of which are key to the foundation of the instructional program in Rock Hill Schools.
In 2006, he relocated to Walter Bickett Elementary School, a Title I School with a high percentage of low-income and Hispanic students. There, he continued the journey for school improvement.
From 2009 to 2012, Jones served as the director of middle school education for Union County Public Schools (UCPS), North Carolina’s sixth largest district with 41,500 students. In this role, he supported instructional and programming services for all middle school administrators, teachers, and students and facilitated the district’s one-to-one laptop program. He then was named as assistant superintendent for instructional programs where he supervised all levels, a position he held until 2017. Among other achievements, he began and managed the Union County Virtual Education Program which led to the development of more than 34 online courses produced and taught in UCPS.
For the past year, Jones has served UCPS as assistant superintendent for teaching and learning where his responsibilities included increasing student performance and overall organizational effectiveness.
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If interested in applying for current and future vacancies in Rock Hill Schools, please visit www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/jobs.