INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – The Indian River County School Board expects to go from a “good” School District to a “great” one under the leadership of newly anointed Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams.
“I’m humbled to be the leader of this vital organization,” Dr. Adams said at the close of her first School Board meeting as the new schools chief. “I take that responsibility very seriously, and I will work hard for the benefit of our students.”
During the Tuesday evening meeting, the School Board unanimously approved the administrative personnel changes Dr. Adams recommended as part of her organizational chart.
Replacing her as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction is Theresa D’Albora, who most recently was Dr. Adams’s counterpart in the Martin County School District.
Taking on the newly created position of Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Risk Management is Pamela Lannon.
Like D’Albora, she is coming to the Indian River County School District from Martin County. She has a legal background and was most recently employed as the executive director of human resources and staff development for the Martin County district.
The new executive director of instruction and information technology is Bruce Green, a lifelong Indian River County resident who, until recently, worked with the Indian River County School District as a teacher and as a staff member in Education Accountability.
He is returning to the district from a position he held at Performance Matters, a software development company.
“I’m really excited,” School Board member Claudia Jimenez said. “I think Dr. Adams is putting together a dream team and it’s going to be wonderful to see what we do to go from good to great because there’s always room to do better.”
Other board members expressed similar excitement and enthusiasm for the district in the near future.
Board member Jeff Pegler said that when he was asked recently by someone in the public about Dr. Adams coming on board as the superintendent, he replied that he felt as though they had been engaged for a while and they finally got married. The comment prompted laughter not only from the board and superintendent but from the audience as well.
“The opportunities are really great,” he added, noting that he is looking forward to the Dr. Adams era for the district.
“This year, there’s going to be a lot of change,” School Board Chairman Matt McCain said, adding that much will be positive under Dr. Adams’s leadership.
“With change there is also an opportunity,” McCain said. “And I think, right now, we have an opportunity to move this district forward in a very positive manner.”
