McFadden to retire, too
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 24, 2013 1:46 PM
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Dr. Craig McFadden, assistant superintendent for accountability and student services with Wayne County Public Schools, will retire June 30. The 38-year veteran educator's decision comes on the heels of a similar announcement made last week by Dr. Steve Taylor, schools superintendent.
The assistant superintendent tasked with collecting data and calculating test scores for Wayne County Public Schools is retiring.
Dr. Craig McFadden, assistant superintendent for accountability and student services for Wayne County, announced Tuesday that his last day will be June 30.
The news comes on the heels of a similar announcement Friday by Dr. Steve Taylor, schools superintendent, whose retirement becomes effective the same day.
McFadden, with a 38-year career in education, said the news should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him.
"I have told everybody for the last five years, when Steve goes, I go," McFadden said Tuesday afternoon. "I have been through nine superintendents. I don't intend to go through a 10th."
McFadden said it had become an annual tradition of sorts for the two to compare notes on their respective departures. Taylor, he said, often stopped by McFadden's office and asked him about staying on another year.
"This year, he didn't come by and say that," McFadden said.
The superintendent had high praise for his counterpart.
"Dr. McFadden is one of the most capable, competent, dedicated and highly intelligent professionals I have ever had the pleasure of working with," he said. "His knowledge and work with testing and accountability are unmatched and well-known across Wayne County and the state.
"His departure leaves a void that will not be easily replaced. I wish him and his family happiness in this well-deserved and earned retirement."
McFadden, born in Chicago, attended schools in New York and New Jersey before settling in eastern North Carolina. He holds a bachelor's degree in English and psychology, a master's degree in school psychology and a certificate of advanced study in school psychology from East Carolina University. He earned his doctorate degree in psychology from N.C. State University.
His career in education began in 1975 as a school psychologist with Goldsboro City Schools. In the years since, he has worked as the district's director of exceptional children's programs, director of student services, as a principal and an assistant superintendent. He has held his current position since 1999.
"I have had a long and rewarding career in education," he said.
McFadden added that he was grateful for the opportunities in both the city schools and then merged school systems and all that he has learned from the experience. But he is confident of the timing of this.
"Once the decision is made, it takes a load off," he said, adding, "The trouble is, I have got four months of work to do. This is my busiest time of the year. There's no coasting to the end."
With end-of-grade and end-of-course tests looming, the assistant superintendent's final weeks will likely be spent doing what he's always done -- overseeing the process and tabulating the results.
But come June 30, he says, his sights will be set elsewhere.
"I'll be traveling to Tucson, Ariz., to see my grandkid and I'll probably climb a few more mountains. My wife (Nancy, who retired from the school system three years ago) has already had T-shirts made up with 'Maintenance Crew' on them," he said with a laugh.