Board Heaps Praise, Raise on Woodward in Extended Contract

The Lexington One School Board unanimously agreed Tuesday night to extend the contract of Superintendent Karen Woodward through June 2015 and raise her annual salary by 1.7 percent to $174,930.

Board members were effusive in their praise of Woodward, whom they say has been instrumental in handling the district's growth and improving its academic excellence.

Smith said the board gave Woodward the highest possible evaluation and would have given her an even bigger raise, but Woodward asked that it be capped at 1.7 percent, which is the raise given to all district staff this year. Woodward also will receive an additional five days of annual leave.

"We are so fortunate to have Dr. Woodward as superintendent," Smith said. "She has such vision, strong leadership and management abilities with a real desire to make sure our district prepares students for higher education opportunities and careers.

"Lexington One has 27 schools and about 23,000 students. Yet, under her leadership, those schools still have a warm and inviting feel," Smith added. "That is no small feat when you consider that we’ve grown more than 5,000 students over the last 10 years under her leadership."

Woodward joined Lexington One in July 2000. Since that time, the district has opened nine new schools in an effort to cope with rapid student growth and has two more schools currently under construction.

In 2010–2011 the district grew another 341 students and celebrated significant successes in academics, fine arts and athletics, the board noted. Lexington One students continued to perform above state and national averages on SAT and ACT. Three of the four high schools earned ACT/SAT Performance Improvement Awards.

The board remarked on Woodward’s particularly strong leadership in the following areas:

• the design and implementation of the Schools of the Future — Now! Initiative, which focuses on making sure Lexington One graduates possess the necessary skills to compete, contribute and succeed locally and globally by emphasizing three areas: LexLeads, LexLearns and LexLives;
• the design, construction and implementation of the high schools’ Centers for Advanced Study, which provide students with opportunities to focus their knowledge in areas of interest at the advanced level; and,
• the personal mobile computing initiative piloted last year at Gilbert High School and expanding this year to the district’s other three high schools.

What do you think of the new zones and Superintendent Woodward's performance? Tell us in the comments.