LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Little Rock School District is moving full steam ahead with their new superintendent, Dr. Jermall Wright.
Following a lengthy selection process, everyone involved said they're just excited to get started.
In a few weeks, Little Rock schools will be out for summer, but for retiring superintendent Michael Poore that'll mean that he's out of school forever now.
"Little Rock is a wonderful community. We use the phrase 'called the power of us' and really that's what this has to be," Poore said.
Wednesday night during a contract approval board meeting, Dr. Jermall Wright was officially named as incoming LRSD superintendent, pending a few signatures.
Looking towards the future, Wright said he's getting ready for day one.
"I want to really engage with our students and families to understand their experiences, to kind of get a better understanding of what are some of their hopes and dreams," he said.
Currently, Wright is a superintendent in Mississippi. He comes with a long resume that includes a variety of other educational positions.
"I think the demographics of the student population in Little Rock is similar to other places that I worked," Wright said.
The school board unanimously approved his contract Wednesday that runs through 2025 and includes an option to extend.
"I am looking to make Little Rock my home and hopefully this will be it for me," he said.
LRSD School Board President Greg Adams said after Wednesday's meeting that they're confident in Wright's ability to lead the district in the right direction.
"We think that Dr. Wright is going to be the right person for us to build on that progress," Adams said.
The school board is preparing to raise teacher salaries and shared that during the process of writing up Wright's contract, they also reviewed pay for administrators and superintendents around the state. They decided to set Dr. Wright's new salary in the middle of that range.
Now, ahead of Wright's start, Poore gets ready to pass the torch and said he's excited for a supportive transition period.
"How successful Dr. Wright is going to be [depends on] how much we put into him," Poore said.
And Dr. Wright's is sharing in that excitement and said that he's ready to get started.
"It's comforting to know that we have such a stellar group of teachers within the district that I'm looking forward to working with," he said.
Dr. Wright will come from Mississippi to visit Little Rock next week and to start visiting schools, continuing the transition process.