At its Thursday, March 17 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved the hire of Dr. Garrick Askew as Chief of Operations. He is scheduled to start work with CCSD on March 28 and will replace outgoing operations chief Dexter Fisher, who is retiring May 31. 

“We are excited to have Dr. Askew come on board our team,” said CCSD superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will truly be an asset for our district.”

Dr. Askew comes to CCSD with over 20 years of experience in education administration. He has served as Executive Director of School Operations Support for the Paulding County School District since July 2021 and was Executive Director of High Schools for the district for three years prior to that. 

Dr. Askew began his educational career in 2000 as a science instructor at the Omega School of Excellence in Dayton, Ohio, and prior to his time in Paulding County, he held other administrative posts in Georgia — including assistant principal at Jefferson elementary and high schools in Jefferson, principal at Anita White Carson Middle School in Greensboro, and principal at Yeager Middle School in Douglasville. 

Dr. Askew received a bachelors degree in Biology and a masters degree in Secondary Education from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, before earning his doctorate in Educational Leadership, Cultural and Historical Foundations of Education from the University of Georgia. 

"I am excited to return to Athens in this capacity in the Clarke County School District,” Dr. Askew said. “I look forward to working with the team and to providing our community of students with the highest quality of services.”