Alvin Garrison will be the next superintendent of Covington Independent Public Schools. The principal of John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown was unanimously chosen by the Covington Board of Education during a special meeting Saturday morning.
“I’m honored to have this opportunity,” Garrison told the crowd assembled at the Board of Education building after a standing ovation that followed the board’s vote. “I think this district is really a special place with tremendous potential and I look forward to serving as superintendent.”
Garrison takes over on July 1 and will replace Lynda Jackson who will retire at the end of June. His four year contract includes an annual salary of $129,000. Twenty-nine applications for the superintendent position were received.
The 42-year old Garrison has been principal at John Hardin since 2006 and under the state testing system, that school ranks in the top thirteen percent of all high schools in Kentucky. The ACT composite for Hardin is 19.1, and the graduation rate is 91.7 percent.
He takes over a school district that has consistently ranked at or near the bottom in state test scores, an issue that Garrison said would be improved. “We will raise student achievement,” Garrison told The River City News. He said part of that effort is to instill hope and a can-do attitude in the children of the district.
“We will continue the high expectations and effort of improvement,” Garrison said. “We will instill hope and a new attitude in all of our young people and all of our stakeholders, creating a climate that we all can be proud of.”
“We are going to do what is right for kids.”
The new superintendent complimented Jackson’s efforts during her tenure and said that he has read the strategic plan implemented by the district. Garrison also complimented the school board saying that he believes that they are a “students-first board”.”I truly believe Covington has all the ingredients to be a great school district,” he said.
