President's Message 10/18/2019

 

 

This Week's Speaker: Dr. Mike Looney –

Superintendent, Fulton County Schools

 

      Dr. Looney joins Fulton County Schools after recently serving as Superintendent of Williamson County Schools in Tennessee, where he was named 2015 Superintendent of the year by Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS). He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and Master's degree in Education from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Dr. Looney earned his Educational Specialist Degree and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Alabama.

 

Dr. Looney's work has been presented for regional and national audiences on a wide range of educational and leadership topics. He has served on several distinguished panels including President George W. Bush's National Reading Leadership Panel in Washington D.C.  Dr. Looney also served as Superintendent of the Butler County School District in Alabama. Under his leadership the school district realized significant student achievement gains, improved the graduation rate, and established the district's first magnet school. In recognition of his work there, he was selected as Greenville, Alabama's Citizen of the Year in 2008.  Before arriving at Butler, he was Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Montgomery Public Schools. Under his leadership, the district of 61 schools and 31,000 students received national notoriety for its improvement in reading achievement scores.

 

Dr. Looney, a public educator since 1994, has also served in the roles of classroom teacher, assistant principal and principal. During his tenure as principal, his school was recognized for closing the achievement gap for underprivileged and minority students. His school was highlighted at both the state and national levels and was named a National Title I Distinguished School. 

 

Prior to entering the field of education, he served as finance manager for a privately-held corporation with fifty employees in Anniston, Alabama. His responsibilities included corporate finance, marketing, and human resource management.

 

Dr. Looney is a military veteran having served for seven years in the United States Marine Corps before being honorably discharged with a service-related injury. His military service was distinguished by four meritorious promotions which included his being selected as the Marine of the Year for MCRS Montgomery serving Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. In addition to other medals and ribbons, Dr. Looney was the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. His military duties took him all over the world and included a six-month tour on the USS Raleigh with the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Amphibious Force. He is the father of four grown children.