BELOIT, Wis. — Four candidates remain in Beloit’s search for a new superintendent.
The School District of Beloit Board of Education announced the finalists on Wednesday. Six applicants interviewed with the board last week.
RELATED: Beloit interviews six people for superintendent, final selection set for Sept. 27
The district has been looking for a new superintendent since May when former superintendent Dr. Daniel Keyser left his post to become district administrator for the Stoughton Area School District.
The finalists are as follows:
Dr. Willie Garrison
Dr. Garrison began his teaching career as a Social Studies teacher in Milwaukee. In 2007, he worked as Underfill Principal at Clarke Street School and Pulaski High School.
He has also served as Dean of Students and Assistant Principal at Hamilton High School in Milwaukee and as Assistant Principal at Wauwatosa East High School. In 2015, he became the Wauwatosa School District’s Director of Equity, Student and Family Services. In 2020 he left to become the Director of Teaching and Learning for the Brown Deer School District.
Dr. Garrison earned his Bachelor of Arts-Secondary Education from Oral Roberts in 2002, his Master of Education from National Louis University in 2005 and his Doctorate of Education from Concordia University last year.
Dr. Brenda Lewis
Dr. Lewis started as a first-grade teacher in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2001. In 2004, she became an Assistant Principal in Eagan, Minnesota. She has also worked in leadership positions in Red Wing, Minnesota; the District of Columbia, St. Paul, Minnesota and Hangzhou, China.
In 2011 she worked as Executive Director of Elementary and Secondary Education in Rochester, Minnesota, where she would later be named Assistant Superintendent in 2013. In 2019 she was named Director of the Office of Curriculum and Instruction in Montgomery County, and in 2021 she was named Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Dr. Lewis earned her Bachelor of Science from St. Catherine University in 2000, her Master of Education from St. Mary’s University in 2004, and her Doctorate of Philosophy Leadership from Capella University in 2009.
Dr. Nita White
Dr. White began work as an Assistant Principal in Schaumburg, Illinois in 2001. From 2004-2009, she served as an Assistant Principal and Principal in Fort Bend ISD in Sugar Land, Texas.
In 2009 she returned to the Midwest to become a Principal in Elgin, Illinois. She was named Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Curriculum at the school district in Freeport, Illinois, in 2015.
In 2020, she served as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Valley View School District in Romeoville, Illinois, and last year she worked as Director of Human
Resources for the district in Country Club Hills, Illinois.
At the beginning of 2022, she began her work as Assistant Superintendent and Principal for Pembroke School District in Hopkins, Illinois.
Dr. White earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Howard University, her Master of Education in Instructional Leadership from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and her Doctorate of Education in Administration and Leadership from Aurora University.
Dr. Darrell Williams
Dr. Williams began his career as a teacher in 1993 in Milwaukee Public Schools. He became an Assistant Principal with MPS in 1996, and has held positions including Principal and Turn Around Principal with MPS since 2011.
He was named Assistant Superintendent of Beloit in 2015 and served as Interim Superintendent from 2017-2019. He was named State Administrator of the Wisconsin Emergency Management Agency in 2019.
He also served as a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1989-2018 and ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate last year, though he was ultimately defeated by Mandela Barnes in the August primary election.
Dr. Williams earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Rust College in 1993, his Master of Arts Degree from Marian University in 1995, and his Doctor of Philosophy Degree from UW-Milwaukee in 2007.
Next steps
A final round of interviews is set for September 27 and 28. There will also be community forums for each candidate held at the Kolak Education Center, 1500 Fourth Street, in
the Boardroom and Training Lab on September 27 and 28. Parents and guardians, staff and community members are invited to attend.
Community members can also submit questions for the forums online until September 26 by clicking here. Questions will be selected and read by Daniel Nerad of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, who is serving as a moderator for each forum.
A schedule of interviews and forums is as follows:
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Dr. Darrell Williams
- Interview – 5:30 p.m.
- Forum – 6:45 p.m.
Dr. Nita White
- Forum – 5:30 p.m.
- Interview – 6:45 p.m.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Dr. Brenda Lewis
- Interview – 5:30 p.m.
- Forum – 6:45 p.m.
Dr. Willie Garrison
- Forum – 5:30 p.m.
- Interview – 6:45 p.m.
Once the new superintendent is chosen, a contract, start date and terms and conditions will be negotiated. They will then be presented to the Board of Education Human Resources Committee for formal approval. The date and time of that meeting has not been set.
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