During its Thursday, Feb. 9 meeting, the Clarke County Board of Education approved the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Scott as the Clarke County School District’s new Chief of Academics and Student Supports, a role that merges her current position as Chief of Student and Family Supports and that of Chief Academic Officer, a position held by Mr. Brannon Gaskins, who submitted his resignation earlier this month to take a position with the University of Virginia. Her start date in the role will be Monday, March 6.
In her expanded role, Dr. Scott will have oversight of the district’s Leadership Development, which includes principal supervision, curriculum, Student and Family Supports, Special Education, Innovation, Strategy and Governance, Federal Programs, and Family and Community Engagement.
After two years at Colbert Elementary School in Madison County, Dr. Scott joined CCSD in 1998 as a classroom teacher at Timothy Road Elementary School. She later became assistant principal at TRES in 2007 before moving across town to Barnett Shoals Elementary School, where she was principal from 2011-2019. While at Barnett Shoals, she provided instructional leadership that led to a steady and consistent increase in student performance, resulting in a 13-point rise in the school’s CCRPI rating over a three-year period. She also fostered community partnerships aimed at supporting the academic and social needs of her school community.
Dr. Scott was appointed Executive Director of Leadership Development in 2019, a role in which she supervised and promoted the professional growth and development of principals at seven of the district’s 14 elementary schools. She was promoted to Chief of Student and Family Supports in 2022. Dr. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications, a master’s in Early Childhood Education, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership, all from the University of Georgia.
As part of this organizational realignment, the BOE also approved the appointment of Ms. Tessa Barbazon as Interim Executive Director of Student and Family Supports, a role that will report to the Chief of Academics and Student Supports. In this role, Ms. Barbazon will expand her current duties as Director of School Counseling and Social-Emotional Learning to include oversight of student registration, school psychology services, social work services, issues related to the Code of Student Conduct, and trauma-informed care. Her start date in the new role will also be Monday, March 6.
After graduating with a bachelor’s in Secondary Education from the University of Georgia, Ms. Barbazon began her career in Madison County as a middle school Language Arts teacher before moving to Fulton County as an English gifted and talented teacher. During her time in the classroom, she earned a Master of Education in School Counseling from the University of West Alabama and moved into counseling at the elementary and then high school levels before transitioning into a district leadership role in Fulton County. She also holds an Ed.S. from Georgia State University in Educational Leadership. Ms. Barbazon joined CCSD in 2018 in her current role, which includes serving as the REACH Scholarship Program Coordinator.
“During my first 100 days in this position, my objective was to understand the current cabinet and departmental structures by examining current practices, culture of productivity, efficiency of business, and underlying mechanics of supporting the work together without unnecessary confusion or overlap,” said Dr. Robbie Hooker, CCSD Superintendent. “We are very excited to begin the important work of organizational realignment with the appointment of Dr. Scott and Ms. Barbazon, who are both exceptionally talented educators and leaders.”
