Cartersville, Bartow Superintendents Honored By Georgia Senate

CARTERSVILLE, GA — State Senator Bruce Thompson honored two men who have spent the past several years leading and shaping the two school systems in Bartow County. Two resolutions honored Bartow County Schools Superintendent Dr. John Harper and Dr. Howard Hinesley of the Cartersville City School System for the service to their respective districts.

Both men announced last year that they would be retiring, with Bartow County School Board members slated to pick Dr. Harper's successor in the coming weeks and the Cartersville City School Board selecting Dr. Marc Feuerbach, the principal at Cartersville High School, to succeed Dr. Howard Hinesley effective July 1, 2018 (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

Senate Resolution 670 commended Dr. Harper for nearly 50 years of service in education, 10 of which he served in Bartow County as its superintendent. Under his leadership, six new schools were constructed, roughly 12 renovated, the county's first College and Career Academy was established and the One-to-One Conversion was put in place so students could use laptops to facilitate instruction.

Dr. Harper, an Adairsville resident, got his start as a classroom teacher and assistant principal at the secondary level in South Carolina. From there, he worked his way up to serve as principal at the middle school level and served as an elementary school principal before moving into the superintendent role. He obtained his bachelor's degree at Baptist College in South Carolina, his specialist degree at The Citadel and completed his doctorate in curriculum and instruction at the University of South Carolina.

Senate Resolution 690 praised Dr. Hinesley, who began his tenure as Cartersville's superintendent in July 2005. His career started in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a classroom teacher, the school system's website notes. He served as director of exceptional student education in Brevard County, Florida, and he later moved to a similar post in Pinellas County, Florida. While in Pinellas County, Dr. Hinesley was tapped to serve as associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction and later served for 14 years as superintendent of schools for one of the largest systems in the country.

While in Cartersville, Dr. Hinesley was credited with starting the successful GateKey Scholarship Program designed to serve at-risk students, which was used as a model by the governor to create the statewide scholarship program called REACH, according to the resolution. Dr. Hinesley earned his undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Alabama. He and his wife, Susan, have three adult children and several grandchildren.

Photo: from left to right are: Dr. John Harper, his wife, Adena, State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, Dr. Howard Hinesley, Sen. Bruce Thompson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Credit: Georgia State Senate provided by Bartow County Schools