Former teacher, administrator to become new permanent superintendent
Dr. Ken Nicely
The Roanoke County School Board has named Dr. Ken Nicely as the new superintendent for Roanoke County Public Schools effective immediately. Dr. Nicely first joined Roanoke County Public Schools in 1993 as a teacher at Cave Spring High School. In 2002, he was named an assistant principal at Hidden Valley Middle School and became principal at HVMS in 2006. Dr. Nicely moved to central office in 2012 as the Director of Secondary Instruction and became the Director of Administration in 2016.
In May 2018, he was named the acting superintendent for Roanoke County Public Schools following the retirement of Dr. Greg Killough.
Dr. Nicely holds a Bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Doctorate from Virginia Tech.
“This is the right move for us,” said Jason Moretz, Chairman of the Roanoke County School Board. “Dr. Nicely has been interviewing for this position for 25 years, and we’re very pleased he will continue leading our school system,” he added.
“When we named Ken as the acting superintendent, we received overwhelmingly positive support from the community,” said Moretz.
The school board originally had planned to conduct a nationwide search for a new superintendent but has canceled that search. “We had the best person for the job right here, so there was no reason to spend tens of thousands of dollars to conduct a search,” said Moretz.
“When I began my teaching career in Roanoke County Public Schools 25 years ago this month, I would never have dreamed that I would be standing here today as the new superintendent. Roanoke County is one of the top school systems in Virginia, and I am humbled, honored, and deeply grateful to be given the opportunity to lead this school division forward,” Nicely said immediately following the board’s announcement.
“They say that no one is truly a leader unless people are following. My pledge as the new superintendent is that we will move this division forward; but we will move forward as a team, committed to support the success of each team member as we all work together for the success of each child,” Nicely added.
- Submitted by Chuck Lionberger, Community Relations Specialist