The City of Newton Board of Aldermen recognized retiring Newton Municipal School District superintendent Dr. Glenda Nickson last week with a resolution for her outstanding leadership and service as head of the school district.
Nickson, who is set to retire at the end of June, has led the school district in making some significant strides since taking the reins in 2019, highlighted by the district earning its first “B” accountability rating during the 2022-23 school year and maintaining it and a graduation rate that reached an all-time high of 97.3%, ranking fifth among statewide districts.
After accepting the resolution, Nickson thanked the mayor, board, and city for the recognition. Nickson then thanked her staff, the scholars, and the community, stating that none of the accomplishments at the school district was by her alone.
Before being hired as superintendent at NMSD, Nickson said she had prayed for a district with ‘one elementary, one middle school, and one high school’. Once she arrived in Newton, she said it didn’t take long to realize that she was where she wanted to be.
“I want to thank you and the district board of directors for trusting me, for following and trusting me with the vision. We accomplished so much,” said Nickson. “I want you to know that when I first came here, there were a few individuals that came to me and said they would be with me and support me. That was Mr. Randy Cuchens, Mr. Fred Snow, and Mr. Frankie McCullum. And I tell you; they came, they took me around and introduced me to individuals, and I knew then that I was in the right place.”
Nickson ended by saying it was not goodbye, but farewell, that there are still lots of things for the district to do and it has a staff that can do it, and she looks forward to keeping up with what the district will be doing.
