FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — A Wake County teacher says that after seeing high turnover in the school district's top leadership position, she is optimistic about the hiring of a new superintendent, which was announced last week. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Robert Taylor is set to begin as Wake County school superintendent Oct. 1

  •  Taylor previously served as the state's deputy superintendent

  •  Teachers say they wanted someone with experience in North Carolina

“We have had quite a few superintendents," said Christy Brown, an elementary school teacher. "I’ve seen several come and go. I’m really excited to see Dr. (Robert) Taylor coming, really excited about what the future holds for Wake County Schools.”

The Wake County Board of Education on July 18 announced the selection of Taylor as superintendent after a search and review process that lasted several months.

Brown is a veteran teacher at Fuquay-Varina Elementary School.

“I’ve been at Fuquay Elementary for 27 years, so I’ve been blessed to walk into those doors every day to love those children for 27 years," she said.

Brown said when she heard the announcement, she looked into Taylor’s history. 

He was briefly state superintendent of education in Mississippi, but in North Carolina, Taylor was deputy state superintendent for the state Department of Public Instruction for two years and superintendent of Bladen County Schools for almost a decade, among other positions.

Seeing that he spent most of his career in North Carolina schools was important to Brown. It was one of the things Brown said she and her colleagues pushed for in a staff survey they were given this spring. 

“We certainly were looking for someone with integrity, a person with a vision for the county," Brown said. "So in looking at that, I think we found the right person.”

As Taylor gets settled into his role this fall, Brown says she has one request of him.

“We don’t feel like our superintendent visits often enough," Brown said. "We’d like to have a superintendent who comes to visit, who knows the schools they’re serving.” 

Wake school officials say they interviewed 28 candidates from 13 states and territories during the search. 

Among the top three characteristics that teachers said they were looking for in the superintendent survey were high standards of integrity, willingness to listen to input and an understanding of how to provide a safe and welcoming environment. 

You can find those results on the Wake County schools website. 

Taylor will start Oct. 1, overseeing the 198 schools across the county.