The Athens-Clarke County Board of Education this week announced that Robbie Hooker from the Social School District remained from a pool of applicants as the sole finalist for the position of Superintendent. A highly respected leader with ties to CCSD and more than a decade of administrative experience in Clarke County schools, Dr. Hooker currently serves as the Superintendent of Social Circle City Schools, a position he has held since 2019.
Pending final approval of the Board later this month, Hooker will assume full responsibilities for this role effective Oct. 10. Since Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas announced last year that she would retire at the end of 2022, the Board has carefully weighed options for filling this crucial role. Those options included appointing an Interim Superintendent while conducting a search or moving directly to appoint a Superintendent. Given Dr. Hooker’s unique experience and qualifications, the latter option provided the best opportunity for a seamless transition.
“Dr. Hooker has worked in complex communities, including many years in Clarke County. He has a strong history of building leadership capacity and relationships, which are critical to our culture and climate as well as other strategic priorities,” said Dr. LaKeisha Gantt, Board of Education President. “The Board is excited about the direction of education in Clarke County under Dr. Hooker’s leadership. We are also grateful for Dr. Thomas’ leadership, as she has led the district through significant transitions.”
Dr. Hooker began his career in education as a classroom teacher, a role that brought him to W.R. Coile Middle School, where he was named Teacher of the Year for 1995-96. From there, he went to Westside Middle School in Barrow County, where he served as assistant principal from 1997-2003, before returning to CCSD as principal of Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School from 2003-2008. In 2008, Dr. Hooker was named principal of Clarke Central High School, a position he held until 2016. In that role, he received many honors, which included being named Georgia High School Principal of the Year in 2013 by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals.
After leaving CCSD, Dr. Hooker became Assistant Superintendent for High Schools in Henry County from 2016-2019 before assuming the role of Superintendent of Social Circle City Schools. As SCCS Superintendent, he led the district in developing a five-year strategic plan to fulfill the schools’ mission to empower students with an equitable and excellent education, led his team to cultivate a unified, performance-based culture, and secured a Facebook grant that provided Chromebooks for every student. Under Dr. Hooker’s leadership, the Social Circle Governance Team received the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) Leading Edge Award in 2020 and 2021 as well as the 2021 Quality Board Award.
“I am excited to return and join the leaders, teachers, and staff at the Clarke County School District. I look forward to working with our governance team to focus on our students and mak