2020 RECAP: BURTON ISD SUPERINTENDENT DR. EDNA KENNEDY
(Mark Whitehead)
With 2021 having officially begun, KWHI is visiting with Washington County officials and seeing how last year went for them and their administrations, while also looking to the future.
We conclude with Burton ISD Superintendent Dr. Edna Kennedy, who discussed how the school district handled 2020 and what plans it has for this year.
Dr. Kennedy believes 2020 was one of the most challenging and different years that any educator has seen, and said the district’s theme this year, #TEAMBURTON, has been very fitting, as a full team effort has been necessary to meet the needs of students.
Dr. Kennedy said the support of the school family and the community has been a constant, and she is grateful that the district has been able to stay relatively healthy over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a rural school district, Dr. Kennedy said making sure students could connect to the internet to do their studies has been a challenge, as well as keeping up with all of the procedures necessary whenever someone in the district has or is exposed to COVID-19.
Dr. Kennedy said the hiring of Anna Preuss as a district nurse in August has helped tremendously, as it gave the district a health professional who could coordinate all of the reporting processes and other pandemic-related issues.
With the spring semester beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) for Burton ISD, Dr. Kennedy said work will soon begin on the budget process for the 2021-22 school year. The district will also begin addressing overcrowding issues and a lack of classroom space.
Dr. Kennedy joined Burton ISD in February 2015 after former superintendent Jim Palmer, who became superintendent in 2003, retired in October 2014. Prior to taking the position with Burton ISD, Dr. Kennedy was the superintendent for Marion ISD.