Rutherford County Schools Focuses on Academics, Growth
Sponsored by: Rutherford County Schools
As educators continue to deal with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. James Sullivan of Rutherford County Schools in Tennessee is ready to focus on the future.
“COVID caused a lot of noise,” Sullivan says. “We want to get away from that noise and back to focusing on our students.”
Sullivan was named director of Rutherford County Schools in July 2022, after a career-long tenure in education, including a principal position where he had the opportunity to open a brand-new middle school in 2017.
“I helped open Rocky Fork Middle School in Smyrna, which was an amazing experience,” Sullivan says. “I got to see the ins and outs of everything that goes into building a solid educational program.”
“It doesn’t matter where you live in Rutherford County, you’re going to be attending a high-performing school.”
– Dr. James Sullivan, Director of Rutherford County Schools
Under his leadership, Rocky Fork reached a Level 5 status from the Tennessee Department of Education, which is the highest academic performance designation a school can achieve. Since becoming director, Sullivan says his main objective is keeping Rutherford County Schools high-performing and focusing on academic growth for students.
“We have over 51,000 students and are continuing to grow,” he says. “We’re a Top 100 district in the country for student enrollment.”
He adds that while student growth is exciting, it presents a unique challenge in ensuring all 51 campuses in the district hire and recruit the best staff possible.
“It all starts with staff,” Sullivan notes. “We must retain our own great teachers but also recruit nationally. We added more than 100 teaching positions last year.”
Rutherford County is the fourth-largest district in the state, and Sullivan plans to maintain its high-performing reputation.
“It doesn’t matter where you live in Rutherford County, you’re going to be attending a high performing school,” he says. “My goal is to maintain that distinction and continue providing the best for our students.”
