Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr. has earned plenty of recognition in the past few months, winning N.C. Superintendent of the Year honors and a nod from the Greater Fayetteville Chamber as "Outstanding Educator of the Year."
Connelly, though, is quick to point to the strength of his cabinet and staff. Today, we put the focus on a key member of his leadership team: Dr. Lindsay A. Whitley, associate superintendent of communications and community engagement.
Dr. Whitley, who joined the system in 2018, is responsible for overseeing every element of the external and internal communications generated on behalf of the school system. An award-winning public relations practitioner, Dr. Whitley has presented at conferences across the country and served as the author or co-author of a number of journal articles on family and community engagement.
Dr. Whitley holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Communication Studies and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership. He also received his doctorate in Educational Leadership from High Point University.
He spoke with CityView’s Bill Horner III.
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Let’s start with you and your role. How did your career path bring you to Cumberland County Schools, and what are your primary responsibilities?
My journey to Cumberland County Schools (CCS) began in Montgomery County Schools, where I had the opportunity to work in a small, rural school district. There, I held various roles in communications and family engagement, gaining valuable experience in community outreach and relationship-building. Transitioning to Guilford County Schools, a large, urban school district, I served as the director of Guilford Parent Academy, where I focused on increasing family engagement through innovative programs. These diverse experiences prepared me for my role in CCS, where I now serve as the associate superintendent for communications and community engagement. My ultimate goal is to increase student success by ensuring that everyone in our diverse community feels informed and invited to be part of our school system.
In my role at CCS, I oversee a wide range of responsibilities, including external and internal communications generated on behalf of the school system. This includes public and media relations, internal and external communications, marketing, customer service, community engagement, print and graphic design, video production, website management, and social media. By effectively managing these areas, I aim to foster strong connections between schools, families, and the community. My primary focus is on creating an environment where everyone feels informed, involved, and supported as we strive to help students reach their maximum potential in their education.
In what ways do you specifically support Dr. Connelly in the job that he does?
In supporting Dr. Connelly's leadership at Cumberland County Schools, my efforts are intricately linked to the execution of The Cumberland Commitment: Strategic Plan 2026, particularly Strategic Priority 4 — Committed Community. This priority aligns closely with my responsibility to cultivate collective engagement among schools, families, and the community to foster student success. I lead a team of dedicated professionals in the Communications and Community Engagement department, working collaboratively to execute our strategic initiatives and ensure alignment with Cumberland County Schools' goals. My role encompasses several key initiatives:
Through these strategic actions, I provide critical support to Dr. Connelly by ensuring that internal and external communications and stakeholder engagement strategies are aligned with our goals to enhance student achievement across Cumberland County Schools.
Part of your role is dedicated to communication with the system’s stakeholders. Let’s dive into that a bit. There’s a lot of “noise” in our tech-filled world, and students, their parents and the rest of the CCS community (and the community at large) certainly have lots of inputs – lots of voices coming from different directions. Share with us about your “key communicators” group and how you’re reaching them.
In our rapidly evolving, technology-rich world, cutting through the noise to ensure meaningful communication with our stakeholders is paramount. Beyond leveraging technology and mass communication channels, we prioritize direct engagement through our Key Communicators Program. This initiative involves a diverse group of stakeholders who serve as vital links between the school system and the community. Meeting bi-monthly with district leaders, they discuss successes, opportunities, and areas for improvement, bringing valuable insights from their communities. This two-way communication channel allows us to address concerns proactively and disseminate accurate information through these trusted liaisons, ensuring our messages reach diverse community segments effectively. The Key Communicators Program represents just one of several initiatives designed to facilitate direct engagement with diverse stakeholders.
Additionally, our Family Ambassador Program involves parent volunteers at schools throughout the district who serve in a similar capacity, offering a direct line of communication between families and the school system. Furthermore, as widely publicized last fall, the superintendent visited the 10 attendance areas of the district to host community chats with students, employees, families, and the community at large. These groups and initiatives, among others, are crucial to our strategy of establishing effective two-way communications. Through these channels, we proactively address concerns, share successes, and ensure that accurate and timely information reaches all corners of our community.
Unfortunately, crisis communication is also something you’ve had to think about and develop a strategy for. What’s changing in that realm for the system?
In addressing the evolving landscape of crisis communication, our district remains steadfast in prioritizing the safety of our students and staff. We recognize the importance of keeping everyone informed, which is why we've developed robust crisis communication plans well in advance of any potential crisis. Through close collaboration with internal and external partners, we ensure these plans are comprehensive and ready for implementation when needed.
One significant change we've observed in recent years is the widespread use of cell phones and social media, which has facilitated the rapid spread of misinformation. We understand the challenge posed by this trend, as inaccurate information can quickly escalate and cause undue alarm within our school system.
Despite these challenges, our objective remains consistent: to provide timely and accurate information to our stakeholders. To achieve this, we've implemented strategies to ensure our communications are reliable and trustworthy. This includes utilizing a variety of communication channels, such as automated calling systems, emails, text messages, and social media, to disseminate information promptly and effectively.
By emphasizing the importance of relying on official CCS communication channels, we aim to mitigate the spread of misinformation and reassure our community that they can trust the information they receive from us.
And, of course, communication with parents is critical. That’s a part of CCS’s family engagement strategy. Why is that so important? What difference does good engagement make?
Effective communication with families is crucial for fostering student success within Cumberland County Schools. We understand that building positive relationships and maintaining consistent communication with families are crucial components of student achievement. Informed and involved parents and guardians play a significant role in enhancing the educational experience and outcomes for their children. Decades of research highlight the strong correlation between robust family engagement and positive educational outcomes, including improved attendance, higher academic performance, and better behavior.
To facilitate this, we employ a variety of communication strategies. Weekly phone calls from the district and schools serve as consistent touchpoints for families, providing updates and nurturing open lines of communication. Direct teacher-to-family and family-to-teacher communication channels are streamlined through various technology platforms, enabling immediate contact for questions or concerns and ensuring that families feel connected and supported.
Additionally, the PowerSchool Parent Portal offers families real-time access to their children's grades and academic progress, empowering parents to be more engaged in their children's education.
To further enhance our commitment to inclusive communications, we extend our reach to non-English speaking families through translation services at our events and upon request in our schools, complemented by our Spanish-language website. We prioritize communicating with families in their native language, ensuring accessibility and fostering meaningful engagement across our diverse community.
By prioritizing these communication strategies, among others, we aim to forge a strong partnership with families, recognizing their essential role in supporting student success.
What about reaching parents who either have no interest in being reached, or are inclined to be disengaged? And certainly there are some parents whose work schedules and other factors make it difficult for them to be as engaged as they might like. Some are in positions where they can’t ensure their children make the bus … What’s your strategy there?
Reaching out to parents who may not typically engage with the school or face obstacles in doing so is a priority for us. We recognize that engagement varies for each family due to differing work schedules, life circumstances, or levels of interest. It's essential to understand that effective family engagement goes beyond physical presence at school events.
At the beginning of each school year, we provide educators and staff with a toolkit emphasizing the importance of initiating positive connections with every family. This approach involves more than just learning names and faces; it’s about comprehending each family's unique situation and learning how we can collaboratively support their child's educational journey. This initial step is crucial for establishing a solid foundation for ongoing communication and partnership.
We offer flexible engagement opportunities tailored to the diverse schedules and commitments of our families. This includes utilizing technology for direct teacher-to-family communications, enabling instant contact to address concerns or questions, and providing real-time access to student progress through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. For those unable to participate in conventional ways, we offer alternatives such as teleconferencing and phone calls, ensuring all families have avenues to stay connected with the school community.
By employing creative outreach and communication methods, we aim to cultivate an inclusive environment where every family can engage in their child's education meaningfully. Understanding and accommodating the diverse needs of our families allows us to partner more effectively, ensuring students receive the support they need to succeed.
I’d like to ask about school attendance. A recent story in The New Yorker magazine pointed out that chronic absenteeism has doubled in the last few years. The story said that nationwide, 28% of students missed at least 10% of school days — that’s 18 days absent — in 2021-22. What’s the picture like here, and how is CCS addressing that?
Addressing the critical issue of chronic absenteeism, CCS is actively tackling challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, a trend seen nationwide. We are very aware of this issue and have dedicated teams at both the district and school levels diligently working on it. This includes our district's Student Services team, school-based social workers, and school counselors. Principals, teachers, and other staff are also actively involved in the process.
Understanding the varied and complex reasons behind each case of absenteeism is crucial to our approach. From economic hardships to caretaking responsibilities, we acknowledge the detailed nature of these challenges. Our teams lead extensive efforts, including social media outreach, letters to families, home visits, and collaboration with local authorities to locate and re-engage these students.
To address the underlying causes of absenteeism, CCS has deployed additional resources, including hiring more social workers and counselors. We've also reintroduced the Truancy Mediation Council (TMC), a voluntary intervention program aimed at understanding and mitigating barriers to attendance.
Our strategy is grounded in the belief that every student's presence in school is vital for their educational and social development. By leveraging state and federal funds and enhancing intervention programs, we aim to reduce absenteeism while ensuring students receive the support they need to thrive academically and emotionally.
The Covid pandemic, long periods of remote learning and lots of other challenges (I’m thinking here about distraction from social media) seem to have made it harder to teach kids. Is that a correct assumption? Why or why not?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, extended periods of remote learning, and challenges like social media distraction indeed present new complexities in education. However, we don't necessarily view these challenges as making it harder to teach but rather as opportunities to adapt and innovate in our teaching practices. Like many school districts nationwide, CCS is committed to engaging diverse learners who possess varying learning styles. Our educational strategies are aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, emphasizing innovative teaching methods and differentiation of content to meet the unique needs of each student.
The landscape of education has evolved significantly, prompting us to focus district and school-level resources on building the capacity of our educators to provide engaging and relevant learning experiences to students.
For those kids who are coming to learn every day, what’s the best thing CCS offers? And are there any particular elements of the education offered through CCS that need to be shored up, in your mind?
The best thing CCS offers is a tailored education that benefits the needs of each student and helps them succeed based on their unique interests. As the fifth-largest school system in North Carolina, our comprehensive approach allows us to provide a wide range of programs and opportunities to support student success. Whether students are academically gifted, receive Exceptional Children's services, or have specific interests in arts, music, languages, or trades, we have offerings to meet their diverse needs.
Our commitment to personalized learning ensures that every student has access to programs and opportunities that align with their individual goals and aspirations. Additionally, we provide wrap-around services, social-emotional supports, bus transportation, school meals, and technology access as a one-to-one district. With excellent traditional neighborhood schools and Choice Programs, CCS fosters positive relationships, engages parents as partners, and serves the interests of children and the goals of their families.
While we're proud of the strides we've made in providing tailored educational offerings, we recognize that there are always opportunities for growth and improvement. Like school districts across the state, we are actively working to enhance student achievement and outcomes. This includes providing additional resources and support to schools identified as low-performing by the state, as well as addressing external factors that may impact student success.
As Cumberland County is designated as a Tier 1 County, we understand the importance of addressing challenges such as food insecurity, access to health care, and social and emotional well-being. By acknowledging these factors and working collaboratively with students, families, and community partners, we are working to create a supportive environment where all students can thrive academically and emotionally.
Despite these challenges, our dedication to student success remains unwavering. We are committed to providing a positive and inclusive educational experience for every student.
To find out more:
Lindsay A. Whitley, Ed.D.
910-678-2303 | lindsaywhitley@ccs.k12.nc.us
