By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Board of Education chose a new superintendent last week after rounds of interviews for that position. Dr. Jennifer Fraley, who has served as the interim superintendent since the resignation of former superintendent Dr. Paul Green, was chosen as the new superintendent. Dr. Fraley, a long-time educator, said that she was both humbled and thrilled at the appointment. She said that she has been involved in education for 34 years, which is exactly where she has always wanted to be.
Fraley was born and raised in Louisville and graduated from the University of Louisville.
“I knew early on that I wanted to live and work in a rural area,” Dr. Fraley said. “So, when I graduated from the University of Louisville, I went to Wolfe County.”
Fraley spent nine years of her career in Wolfe County, teaching everything at an elementary school level and Social Studies, Language Arts, and Math at the middle school level until she went to work for the State Department of Education.
In 2000, Fraley’s efforts were recognized when she was named the Kentucky Social Studies Teacher of the Year. She was invited to attend the social studies conference, where she was presented with the award. During her time at the Kentucky Department of Education Fraley served as a middle school consultant and worked on secondary school improvement strategies, something that she felt and still feels is one of the best ways to help students achieve their full potential.
After spending nine years with the State Board of Education, Fraley said she returned home to be an instructional supervisor, then went to work at an educational co-op in Hazard. Fraley worked in Hazard until returning to Carter County as the county’s chief academic officer, a position she filled for approximately three years. During that time, in 2024, she was appointed to be the State Director of Math Education. She worked in that position for a year, helping to implement House Bill 162, or the Early Numeracy Act.
“It was good work,” Fraley said, as well as being interesting work.
During her time there she was able to secure 70 grants sent out to school districts to purchase high quality math curriculums and get significant math learning academies in place for math teachers and administrators.
“But when Dr. Green announced his retirement,” Fraley said, “I had a lot of folks reach out and say I should really come back to Carter County.”
“I was really humbled by that,” Fraley added.
The fact that there were community members and teachers wanting her to return to a county she loved was the key reason she reached out to the school board and applied for the interim superintendent position.
“When they (the board) selected me to be the interim superintendent, I knew at that point that I wanted to apply to be the superintendent.”
Fraley said that because of her experience working at the state level twice, she had been in a lot of different school districts across the state.
“There is absolutely not a better district than Carter County,” she said. “I believe that one hundred percent. We have the very best teachers, the very best staff from our food service to our custodians, and they all care about the kids.”
Fraley said that care is half the battle, so to speak.
“When you have that care, that compassion, you can build relationships with students. We have to take interest in our kids for them to be successful,” she said. “I feel overly blessed. I’m the one that is so thankful for this opportunity to be here.”
Carter County has its advantages and disadvantages, and both have to be considered when forging a plan for the best possible future, Dr. Fraley said. Rural poverty, she said, is definitely something that needs to be addressed. She herself, growing up around Louisville, comes from a poverty background, she said. But it isn’t the same.
“There is something very different about rural poverty as opposed to urban poverty,” she noted..
“Geography plays a big part in that,” Fraley continued. “When you are living in a rural area you can be far from the nearest town. So, if you have a dollar, and you don’t have transportation, that is all you have.”
Urban areas, she said, offer at least the ability to walk to a restaurant and purchase something from a value menu. Rural areas might not have that proximity, but it does offer the ability for programs to be directly applied in smaller communities.
“We are really blessed with Our Family Resource Centers,” Fraley said as an example of those programs. “They are known for the good work that they do. And they are known at the state level for the services they provide to our kids. So, whereas the poverty situation and the geography of rural areas can be a challenge, sometimes they can yield benefits. Because of the fact that we do know all of our students and all of their families, we are able to get to them if they need something.”
Dr. Fraley also addressed the issue shared by all districts of educational funding.
“Every year there are more mandates that go unfunded,” she said. “But we work to implement them and make sure we have enough counselors in our schools, make sure we have high quality curriculum for our students.”
Those things, she said, are expensive and the funds are not always readily available. Given that, she explained, they are always looking for additional funds and grants to meet the opportunities for anything their students might need.
Fraley said that the school district has already identified some instructional priorities that they are working on.
“Those are things we are looking for in the classroom, and all of our teachers and principals are working toward that.”
Maximizing instructional time, planning, and implementing new curriculum are key goals, she said. Formative assessment, monitoring student learning and being able to adjust to ensure all students are achieving their potential are also goals, Fraley said.
Overall priorities for the district, Fraley said, include building systems.
“I am a systems thinker,” Dr. Fraley said. “And I think we need to work to put things in place for coherence and consistency. Things that help us have stability during change and help us to lead during challenges.”
Dr. Fraley said another area they are working on is district facilities.
“We need to regroup around the building project because there are still major changes to be made there. But we need to focus on not just a new building, but the health and maintenance of our existing buildings. We have some aging facilities,” Fraley said. “And with that comes, for instance, HVAC issues, then there is roofing, and other similar issues.”
“I am humbled and very grateful to be in this role,” Dr. Fraley said. “And I want to listen and work to build consensus. I want to make sure that everyone is heard. And I want to have feedback from the families and the community, not just on issues they have but areas where they think things are going well.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
