A new leader, but a familiar face: The Calhoun County Superintendent

CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The new superintendent of the Calhoun County School District doesn’t officially start her new job until July 1st, but she’s already hard at work.

Dr. Lisa Langford is the school district’s new leader, but she’s a familiar face.

For the last 14 years, Dr. Lisa Langford has walked these halls as the Calhoun City Elementary principal.

But after 24 years in education, she’s taking a new path, to the superintendent’s office.

It wasn’t a snap decision.

“In 2007, I ran for superintendent. It was an elected position at the time, and I was defeated, but I’ve said so many times, things happen for a reason, and I wasn’t ready at that time and I know that now,” says Dr. Langford.

She spent the next decade growing professionally and personally and says now, it’s her time.

Dr. Langford is originally from Bruce and she, her husband, kids, and her 99-year-old grandmother, are all products of the school district.

“I know this community. I know it well. I’ve worked in all of the schools. I’ve worked in all of the different zones. I have a working relationship with every administrator. I’ve mentored them and they’ve mentored me over the years.”

Langford says she has many plans for the district, but she faces some challenges too.

Since she just got hired, she says that doesn’t give her a lot of time and she’s feeling the pressure to get some things done this year.

“There are a lot of areas that have already been determined, as far as, budget and staff and things, that it probably would not be a good idea for me to shift now. Some great decisions have been made, but that’s a concern of mine at this point, moving forward.”

But the concerns don’t change her goals for the district.

“The community wants us to communicate more effectively with them. They want us to be open and they want us to be transparent, so that is one of my biggest goals, is to be more open and let everybody see what we’re doing because it’s not secret.”

The seasoned administrator is also after a shift in public perception.

“When someone asks someone in our community, ‘How are your schools?’ I want them to say, ‘They’re fantastic. The teachers are fantastic. The support staff is fantastic.’ I want them to say the bus drivers and the custodians are fantastic. That’s what I’m after.”

18 people applied for the superintendent position, after the previous superintendent retired.

Langford was the unanimous choice of the school board.