A week after he was named West Baton Rouge Parish’s next superintendent, Chandler Smith said he’s ready to listen.
“My first priority is to meet people, hear their ideas, what successes they’ve had that we can build on, where there might be some challenges we can take on,” he said. “I know I’m going to have to do a lot of listening, and that’s good.”
Smith, 41, is a Baton Rouge native and currently assistant superintendent at Central Community Schools. Previously, he was a the chief academic officer at Central Community Schools, the secondary supervisor in Iberville Parish Schools and a principal at Plaquemine High School for four and a half years.
He started out teaching, first at the Boys and Girls Club and then as a Christian education director and as a social studies teacher. It was his own education that got him into teaching in the first place.
“I had a youth minister growing up that made an impact on me and was a big positive in my life, and I wanted to be that for other kids,” he said. “I just wanted to help kids. I know it sounds corny, but it was impactful for me when I was in high school just to have somebody I could talk to and get me involved in school and built a great relationship with me and helped me, and I wanted to do the same.”
Smith is certified to become a superintendent and told himself that, as soon as he finished his doctorate this May he would start looking for a job. He defends his dissertation this month at University of Lafayette.
“God’s timing I guess,” he said.
While Smith and the school district are still in contract negotiations, he hopes to start in early summer so he can experience the summer programs and start before the new fiscal year.
The West Baton Rouge Parish School board voted 7-3 to elect Smith during a meeting on March 1. Troy Bell, the executive director of federal programs and academics for the Franklin Parish School District, was the other finalist for the position out of eight initial applicants.
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