Forsyth County Schools' Evans in the Running for Georgia Superintendent of the Year

The Georgia School Superintendents Association has named Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Dr. L.C. "Buster" Evans one of four finalists for 2014 Georgia Superintendent of the Year. The winner will be announced in December, and will represent Georgia in the American Association of School Administrators' Superintendent of the Year program, according to the press release. 

As superintendent of 40,500 students and 4,200 employees in Forsyth County Schools, Evans has led the district through unprecedented times. Despite revenue loss and operational reductions, the district continues to grow with a 5.5 percent enrollment increase from August 2012 to August 2013. With this student growth, Forsyth County Schools was named the third fastest growing school district in the nation.

Working from goals outlined by the community’s third and fourth Strategic Plans for public education, Evans and his administrative team have implemented innovative programs to also help reduce expenditures to continue to maintain the lowest millage rate in metro-Atlanta. An example of this is the district’s IE2 accountability contract with the Georgia Department of Education, which provides the school system flexibility from state mandates in exchange for increased accountability. 

As a result of the district’s IE2 work, Forsyth County Schools saved millions of dollars, test scores across the district improved and the high school graduation rate rose. Additionally, to provide added transparency to IE2, Evans created a communication tools called the R4 Data Dashboard. From test scores to finances, R4 was the first tool of its kind in Georgia.

Evans’ technology influence has brought many new 21st century initiatives to the school district. Forsyth County Schools has hosted hundreds of educators from across North America to share its BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) movement. 

Because of its progressive use of technology, the system was awarded one of 16 i3 federal grants to develop and implement a personalized learning system. This was the only grant awarded in Georgia and its implementation has the potential to improve learning across the State. 

Since technology has been an integral part of its culture, it was not surprising that Forsyth County Schools was one of the first districts nationally to utilize Facebook and Twitter as communication tools. Additionally, Evans worked to increase learning opportunities for students in grades 6 to 12 with the development of the iAchieve Virtual Academy, an online Forsyth County school that also accepts out of county students. 

Evans is no stranger to working on behalf of students and teachers at the state level. He represents the Forsyth County community as a trustee and chairman of the Teacher’s Retirement Service of Georgia, a position he has served since 2006. 

Currently, Evans serves on the Governor’s Education Advisory Board, Digital Learning Task Force, Superintendents Education Policy Advisory Group at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Education Solutions Group. 

Among his list of many accomplishments is having served as president of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders, president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, a graduate of Leadership Georgia and a prior finalist for the Georgia Superintendent of the Year honor. In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Evans also holds a Magna Cum Laude bachelors degree and master's degree from Valdosta State, and his doctoral degree from the University of Georgia. 

Other finalists include Michele Taylor of Calhoun City Schools, Phillip Lanoue of Clarke County Schools and Matt Arthur of Rabun County Schools.