June 21, 2023
By GRAYSON LEE CAVALIERE
Rutherford County Schools
Kim Edwards is the attendance coordinator for Rutherford County Schools and has worked with RCS for more than 30 years. In this Q&A, Edwards talks about her history with RCS, her retirement plans, and gives advice to those looking for a home in education.
Q: Tell me about your history with RCS.
A: I started teaching seventh-grade math in August of 1988 at Smyrna Middle. I was there for around 10 years. I did an interim math position at Blackman High School and then went back to Riverdale full time. I was working mostly with freshmen when we opened, and we started a group with the freshman academy. In 2010, I was hired as an assistant principal at Oakland High School and then became the principal at Oakland Middle School. After that, I left and spent some time taking care of my grandkids, just stuff like that. In 2018, I was hired to be an assistant principal at Rockvale High School. Then, in 2019, I got the job as attendance coordinator, and I've been here since.
Q: Why do you think you were chosen as Supervisor of the Year?
A:I don't know. I think if I were guessing, I would say that this department works so well with every other department. We deal with all the student information, the teachers, the grade books, everything in Skyward ... so we work with all the other departments.
Q: What do you think makes a good supervisor?
A: Having a really good team. That's been my benefit being here is that most of the department was hired as we came in, but it's a great team here. I think being successful requires having really good people. They know what they're doing and do their job, that you can trust and rely on. We work through things together. If we're not sure or have questions, we talk things through. It's not about being the boss as much as it is a facilitator and leader and finding out answers.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to work in education but is not sure if they want to teach, be an administrator, or work at the central office?
A: If you're in teaching, you know, it's a calling. You've got to find the right fit. I taught middle and high school, and I love them both, but I can't teach elementary. I admire those teachers greatly. You know you just have to find your spot. In teaching, don't give up if it doesn't feel right immediately. Keep trying and then try a different spot. It could be in the grade level, it could be just the situation, you know. So, you've got to try that. As a teacher, you've got to look for opportunities to get into leadership. There are a lot of things within a school you can learn. I would not have ever said at the beginning being here in this department was going to be my strength, but it turns out it played into my skill set.
Q: You are also retiring. What are you looking forward to?
A: Well, I have two grandkids, so I'm looking forward to picking them up from school and doing after-school stuff with them. I'm looking forward to doing some different things. I used to play golf, so I think I'm going to try and pick that back up and play. I'm very fortunate I have a lot of family, and they live here in town, so I can do things with my parents and help them out with different things. It's good to be around all of that. I'm also going to be working part-time, at least for the first year anyway. I'm going to be coming up here just to help out.
Q: So, our new attendance coordinator will be Tori Atwood. What advice do you have for her?
A: Trust your people. What you don't know, ask them. Talk through everything and learn from the people that are doing this because they all have different areas of expertise and things they're stronger at than others. Trust your people and have conversations with them — that's what is going to make the difference.
Q: What is something you are thankful for?
A: The people. I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of great people. So that's been really great. I've had some great parents I've dealt with, even some of the struggles with people have taught me a lot. All in all, my interactions with people are really what I'm thankful for.