But she essentially served as superintendent throughout the second semester of this past school year and over the summer as part of a year-long succession plan implemented by retiring Superintendent Mike Holbrook and the school board.
“But he was still there, right by my side,” said Blevins, who’d been with the district for seven years and was the first administrative hire by Holbrook after he was named superintendent in 2019.
Blevins appreciates Holbrook’s succession strategy, giving her administrative control in the second half of this past school year. The outgoing superintendent told his successor the best way to say “thank you” for the learning opportunity is to take the district further than he ever could.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
“When you leave something, you always want to leave it better than when you inherited it, and when you leave, you want it to grow and prosper,” said Holbrook, whose last day with the district is Aug. 10. “It was really important to me to build something that’s long-lasting and can be sustained.”
That’s why Holbrook wanted to take a year to transition into the top administrative job with Hamilton Schools.
“On day one, you’re not swimming upstream for five or six months,” Holbrook said of the transition process. “There’s a community piece, there’s a relationship piece with unions that is much different than in any other role in a school district organization. To have the advantage of dipping her toes into it, which allows her to start running on the ground.”
There will be noticeable changes heading into the 2025-2026 school year, many of which have been implemented, such as new building principals and a new executive team.
Under Holbrook, there were two associate superintendents, one to handle human resources and one to handle, as Blevins said, “everything else.”
Now, her lone associate superintendent, Mike Wright, will be addressing more superintendent-level matters, and her team of eight executive directors will address everything from human resources and information technology to special education and curriculum oversight. Many were elevated from being building principals.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
The new structure saves costs, which is important given Ohio lawmakers’ budget cuts in education funding in the newly passed biennium budget, she said.
While the state report card will be released in September of the upcoming school year, Blevins said preliminary data has come into districts.
“I feel very proud of what we’ve done so far,” said the Miami University graduate with more than two decades of education experience in Butler County. “It looks like our efforts are working.”
The last Ohio Department of Education state report card for Hamilton showed the 9,000-student district received a 3.5-star state report card. While it was the same star score for the second school year in a row, the district improved the graduation and early literacy components. Because not all components are weighted the same, improvements in those categories didn’t increase the overall ranking.
Blevins said she doesn’t know how the preliminary data will translate with the final report card — she shared the district’s math and state testing results “look positive.”
“I think we’ll hold where we are,” she said. “It’s a pretty wide range from that 3-1/2 to 4 jump. I think we’ll wind up somewhere in there.”
The new school year will see new faces, both with new building principals and a revamped administrative executive team, but a new look for Hamilton. Blevins said they’ll unveil a branding for the district, which she believes will provide excitement and rejuvenation for this next chapter of the school district.
Though she’s been with Hamilton for just seven years, she’s “all in” for the district.
“I live it, breathe it, sleep it,” Blevins said. “I believe everything I’m saying, they’re not words.”
This next era of Hamilton will “see a rebirth of Hamilton pride,” she said. While the district has navigated the learning gap caused by the COVID pandemic restrictions, Blevins said, “Our curriculum and our instruction programs are in a good spot.”
She said Holbrook’s leadership through and out of COVID restrictions, Blevins said it will be up to her to lead the schools back out into the community.
“I want to build back that sense of pride with our staff, with our students, with our community,” she said. “Hamilton is a place to be, Hamilton Schools is a destination. You can’t just say that, you’ve got to build that trust and culture and that means I’ve got to be visible.”
Part of this plan includes meeting with the four union presidents at the school district and creating a student advisory committee to “learn more about the student experience.” There is also a committee consisting of representatives from each school building, “because I want to hear from them.”
Shaquila Mathews, Hamilton’s school board president, said “it only made sense” to elevate Blevins into the superintendent role.
“She was consistent,” she said. “I don’t think we needed to look outside to bring about change. We needed consistency. Our numbers are growing, our state report cards have been going well, and she was a big part of why.”
As Holbrook led the district through the COVID pandemic, and was the leader Hamilton needed at that time, Mathews said Blevins is the leader the schools need at this time, pushing the district forward and “allowing us to see the success of Mr. Holbrook’s navigating the district through the COVID pandemic.”
“I’m excited about her leadership. She’s an amazing and forward-thinking leader,” Mathews said.
Blevins got into education because “it really is a calling,” and believes it’s been her job to support teachers, staff, families and students. That will be a big theme in her tenure as superintendent.
“Parents just want to be heard, and I think the kids are the same way,” she said. “I think those are some of the things I’ve learned over time. Being an administrator and being an educator, it’s hard. It’s lonely. You really have to keep that unbiased approach to what you’re doing. If you take care of the people in your charge, you will be very successful.”
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