Phenix City Schools has two new assistant superintendents

Phenix City Schools has operated without assistant superintendents during the four years since the school board hired superintendent Randy Wilkes from Crenshaw County in June 2014. That changed Thursday night.

That’s when the Phenix City Board of Education unanimously approved Wilkes’ recommendation to promote two directors into assistant superintendent positions.

Darrell Seldon was promoted from director of secondary curriculum and instruction and federal programs to assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Joe Blevins was promoted from director of student services, personnel and operations to assistant superintendent for operations.

“Due to the system’s complexity, size and potential to expand,” Wilkes said in a news release Friday, “restructuring and realignment of the leadership was needed, perhaps even overdue.”

Enrollment in Phenix City Schools has increased in the past 10 years by 24 percent, from 5,636 to 6,988, as of April.

Wilkes told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Friday that he chose Seldon and Blevins out of 39 applicants.

“Both have demonstrated tremendous aptitude, dedication and understanding of the system’s mission,” he said.

Seldon, a Columbus native, has been an educator for more than 25 years. He taught high school for 13 years at Russell County and Smiths Station high schools. He has worked in administration for the past 12 years, including three years as assistant principal at Smiths Station, one year as assistant principal at Central High and three years as principal of Westview Elementary. He also has been the transportation director and elementary curriculum & instruction director for Phenix City. During the past four years, he has been director of secondary curriculum & instruction and federal programs.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in math education from Alabama State, a master’s in education leadership from Columbus State University and a doctorate in education leadership from Valdosta State.

Blevins is a 29-year educator. He has been an eighth-grade social studies teacher, head football coach, assistant principal and principal at South Girard Junior High School and principal of Phenix City Intermediate School, where he worked with a team of teachers that received the grant to become one of the first NASA Explorer Schools in the nation. He was named Phenix City Schools’ Administrator of the Year in 2004. He has been director of operations and student services since 2011 and personnel director since 2014.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and physical education from Troy State University and a master in educational leadership and a specialist degree in education from Troy-Phenix City.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272, @MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published November 16, 2018 at 1:26 PM.