Mason NCA3
February 25th, 2019
To Whom It May Concern:
As a proud graduate and employee of Rutherford County Schools, I am beyond humbled to recommend Dr. Janet Harmon Mason for the North Carolina Award. Dr. Mason’s life’s work is grounded in a simple truth: our public schools are the beating heart of our state and of our communities. As a teacher, a school administrator, an Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent, she has dedicated her life to ensuring that Rutherford County Schools serves its students, its communities, and its state in a way that promotes progress.
The foundation of Dr. Mason’s work rests on her skill in developing her staff. Her philosophy of growing her teachers and her administrators has made Rutherford County a model of professional practice. By fostering partnerships with High Point University and Western Carolina University, she has created a culture of professional growth that encourages teachers to develop their own leadership abilities by pursuing advanced degrees in School Leadership and School Administration. Rutherford County Schools’ dynamic Professional Learning Communities have created bridges between schools, increasing the quality of instruction across our district by showcasing best practices. Teacher-driven professional development leads to innovation by turning teachers into leaders who plan and implement sessions for teachers across our district and many others. Even the quiet, yet transformative action of genuinely listening to her teachers at a monthly Teacher Advisory Council offers those teachers a path through which their voice drives change. Proof of this powerful philosophy of leadership is clear. Rutherford County has produced three Regional Teachers of the Year under her leadership. Teachers are inspired to lead beginning teacher mentorship programs and branch into STEM fields regardless of their content. She provides her teachers and administrators with opportunities for personal growth knowing that by doing so she is strengthening our schools and, in turn, our communities. Teachers that feel empowered, that embody leadership, provide stability and life-changing experiences for the students who will lead us into the future. Because many of our schools deal with the daily effects of poverty and have students populations of which greater than 85% are identified as socio-economically disadvantaged, this support is especially pivotal in creating schools that truly serve our communities. Teacher leadership was the driving force behind the decision to allow one of our most poverty-stricken schools to adopt a flex, or year-round, calendar. The wisdom of supporting that decision is born out in improved student performance across state and national measures. More importantly, those students understand that the school is their community, that the school cares from them with intersession programming and meals, and that they are valued members of that community. It would have been easy to dismiss the idea of altering a school schedule. Instead, Dr. Mason doubled down on her commitment to all schools and all students, ensuring that hundreds of students have a stable food source while at home through the establishment of the Rutherford County Schools Back Pack Program so that they can focus on growing as students. Dr. Mason’s intentional development and support of Rutherford County’s leaders demonstrates her dedication to her staff and to ensuring that our communities prosper by cultivating future leaders.
Dr. Mason also innately understands that serving her community means offering more than platitudes. Her career-long focus on tangible results have transformed our schools and our communities. As a high school senior in Rutherford County, I remember hearing about Dr. Mason’s plan to bring an early college to Rutherford County and being envious of the opportunity it would provide students in the future. Now, as a teacher at Rutherford Early College (lovingly named REaCH by Dr. Mason herself), I witness the promise of early colleges come to fruition each day. Dr. Mason knew that our rural county had to provide low-income and first generation college students the chance to transform their lives. By helming the grant process and fighting for our students to have the option of earning an Associate’s Degree while still in high school, she paved the way for students from our rural, economically disadvantaged communities to attend universities across the state and country in pursuit of degrees in everything from engineering to medicine. Dr. Mason continued that commitment to preparing our students for the future with a 1:1 initiative that now provides lap top computers for all students in grades 5-12 and iPads for all K-4 classrooms. On any given day you will find students building robots or tackling global challenges such as sustainability from our small corner of the world. Not only does this technology provide equity for students regardless of their circumstances, it bridges the academic world and the real world. Students are practicing transferrable skills, from authoring presentations to programming apps, that will ensure North Carolina has the requisite pool of talent to compete on both the national and global scale. Our students leave our schools ready to tackle the 21st century, ready to contribute socially and economically in a world that is constantly changing, because their Superintendent believes they are worthy. For students who may go home to a bare refrigerator, providing an even playing field through technology is nothing short of life-changing. From being an integral part of bringing the early college concept to our county to revolutionizing the education of thousands of students with limited access to technology with a 1:1 laptop initiative, Dr. Mason’s mark on Rutherford County and the state of North Carolina will be felt for generations to come.
Marshaling community resources, developing leaders, and a vision consistently trained on the best future for our children are all parts of a bigger picture that supports positive growth within our state. Dr. Janet Mason has proven herself an advocate and true public servant worthy of the North Carolina Award by building a career on those tenets. Though this letter offers a glimpse of the powerful impact this distinguished woman has had on our communities, it is only a brief introduction to the lasting legacy she has created. Allan Bloom wrote that “Education is the movement from darkness to light,” and Dr. Mason has embodied that mission by providing a brighter path to the future for Rutherford County.
Thank you for your consideration,
Angel Ledbetter
aledbetter@rcsnc.org
(828) 429-2437