The Search Is Over: The
by Charles Condro, Jabberwock Staff Reporter
“I would like to motion that we hire Mr. Fred Morton as Director of the Maggie Walker Governor’s School,” said Mr. John Axselle, Regional School Board member from Hanover County. With that and the unanimous vote that followed, a new era began at MLWGS.
Mr. Morton comes to MLWGS after a five-year stay as the Superintendent of Henrico County Schools. His experience in education also includes working as an assistant superintendent in New York, as well as spending time as the superintendent of Montgomery County Schools
Mr. Morton grew up in Charlottesville and attended the University of Virginia, earning a BS in Education and a Masters in Education.
For his senior year in high school, Mr. Morton attended an international school in Laussane, Switzerland. He said that his experience with diversity and the intelligence of the students there will help him to work with the student body at MLWGS.
“I’ve had a chance to experience a setting similar to this in that the teachers challenge the students,” said Mr. Morton.
Mr. Morton also got a chance to see the world while he served his country in the US Army. From 1966 to 1968, he worked in communications in the Philippines.
He then served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 in counterintelligence.
He was also a member of the Army Reserve for twenty years, and retired as an officer.
While Mr. Morton knows that he will have to deal with many issues while he is the Director of MLWGS, he said that he will not try to deal with problems until he knows the full scope of the situation.
“I think that one of the biggest mistakes that people make is to try and address problems before they are in the organization,” said Mr. Morton. He did acknowledge, however, one problem that he knows he will have to deal with.
“There is one [problem] that is fairly obvious,” said Mr. Morton. “And that is the budget challenge.”
Mr. Douglas Hunt will remain the Director until August 31, 2009.
The Director Search committee, headed by Mr. Axselle, presented Mr. Morton as their selection to the Regional School Board in a closed-door meeting.
The committee had met previously to mull over the candidates based on their applications and the interviews they held in late January and early February.
The vast amount of time and effort put forth by the Committee was well appreciated by those present.
The committee was made up of seven members, with Mr. Axselle and Ms. Diane Pettitt of Chesterfield as co-chairs.
After Mr. Morton’s hiring was official, Mr. Hunt told him about how special his new position as Director of MLWGS is, and how much he had enjoyed his time at MLWGS.
“It is the best job a person could have,” said Mr. Hunt. “Fred is very lucky to be moving into it.”
While Mr. Morton may know MLWGS well, he is still relatively unknown to many students. One thing is certain, however:
“There is a new director in town,” said Jack Scher (’10).
Fred Morton is congratulated by MLWGS Coordinator of Technology and Testing Ms. Patti Chappell.
Photo by Mallory Noe-Payne (‘09).
