Dr. Royal A. Gurley will be the next superintendent of Charlottesville City Schools, the district announced last week. Dr. Rosa Atkins, the former longtime superintendent, resigned in March to take a job with the Virginia Department of Education in Richmond.
Gurley has been the assistant superintendent for academic services for Dinwiddie County Public Schools since 2017. He’s also worked as a teacher and served in the armed forces.
During a press conference, Gurley, a 40-year-old native of Sussex County, explained that he was drawn to CCS for its values, particularly its focus on equity. While at DCPS, he organized an equity task force that reviewed school policies and curriculums for cultural relevance and inclusivity. He is also a member of the Virginia Department of Education Equity Task Force.
“[CCS] is an amazing place,” said Gurley. “There’s a lot of great work that’s been happening here, and I just felt strongly that when I saw what the community was looking for, a lot of my values were aligned [with that].”
This summer, the district employed search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to survey hundreds of school community members and compile a profile of an ideal leader. The community wanted a superintendent who has “an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” among many other values. Gurley was selected from a pool of around 50 candidates. He is the first Black man and the first openly gay man to occupy the position.
“We are just so excited about the work Dr. Gurley has done—his history of equity [and] of bringing all perspectives, voices, and opinions to the table to work through,” said school board chair Lisa Larson-Torres. “He’s not just saying equity, but turning it into a verb.”
Coming into the job, Gurley said his top priority is keeping students and staff safe from the coronavirus through strong mitigation strategies and transparency about active cases and community transmission. He also wants the district to provide ample resources for students who may have fallen behind while school was online.
“Our kids are at different ends of the spectrum, in terms of the kind of support they’ve had since they’ve been away from us,” said Gurley, adding that the schools should “tier our instruction so we can get our students exactly what it is that they need.”
His other priorities include ensuring that the division’s gifted programs and advanced courses adequately reflect the student body, and properly preparing students for graduation and beyond. Gurley also plans to continue the equity work he began in Dinwiddie.
“We need to make sure that we’re not creating any barriers for our students,” he says. “But also, when we talk about equity, what are we doing to move the needle for our students? Are we providing our students with opportunities they need in order to be successful?”
In the coming weeks, Gurley said he will get to know the community by visiting schools, attending fine arts events, and cheering on the Charlottesville High School sports teams.
“I am a big football fan. I’m going to be at every home game. I pop in at all the basketball games,” said Gurley, who will soon move to Charlottesville with his husband, Derrek, and their labradoodle, Cooper. “That’s my outlet—it’s my way to still be at work, but not at work.”
“I’m very approachable,” he added. “I don’t always sit at the same place when I’m at the football games. I like to be among our families.”
“I just want to get to know people [and their] experiences, so we do not replicate things that have not been favorable for people,” said Gurley. “We can write a new history.”