Last week, Hales announcement his retirement after 37 years in public education, an amazing record that spans years as a teacher, principal, central office administrator and finally superintendent.
In every job Hales has held, he has worked diligently for the betterment of children, something that is clearly evidenced in his work at the helm of Clinton City Schools, and something that has been heralded by his colleagues in Cumberland County where he spent many of his educational years.
To say Hales will be missed would be an understatement.
In his 10 years in the city school system, Hales has worked side-by-side with board members, teachers and central services personnel to ensure that students in his system received the very best education they could possibly receive.
Under his leadership, the highly advanced and extremely impressive Clinton High School was built. But more impressive than the school itself was the public charge that Hales led, forging a community partnership that brought in over a million dollars in public money to push construction of the new CHS to an even higher level.
Called March to a Million, the fund-raising charge was no less than brilliant, and very successful we might add.
Hales, being the humble man that he is, would take no credit for the March to a Million, opting instead to applaud the dozens of others who got on the bandwagon and made the fund-raising campaign such a tremendous success. But without question, Hales championed the cause.
He did so again with the community-building fund-raising Dancing with the Clinton Stars, the second of a two-prong technology fund-raising that helped to put high-tech Smart Boards in every city schools classroom.
And Hales didn’t just champion this cause, he participated in it, dancing for the cause along with dozens of other community leaders.
Like March to a Million, Dancing with the Stars was more than just about raising money. It was a community-building exercise that brought people together for a cause that Hales believes in with all of his heart — children.
We could name countless other ways that Hales has led the charge to better the city schools — from implementing strategies that have helped boost test scores at each of the five city schools to supporting arts programs to paying weekly, if not daily, visits to the schools just to witness children in the midst of learning — but space would run out long before the accolades ever would.
Suffice it to say that Hales in his ever quiet, always humble manner is one of the greatest cheerleaders Clinton City Schools has ever had and, what’s more, we believe he will continue to be long after he exits the central services office he has called home for so long.
Post a Comment
