Marczak picked as schools director in Maury County

Note: This story was last updated at 10:50 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak has been selected as director of schools in Maury County.

The Maury County School Board voted unanimously to hire Marczak, the Columbia Daily Herald reported Wednesday night. Marczak was the final candidate of the seven interviewed by the school board over a three-day period. Marczak was interviewed Wednesday.

Nine out of 11 board members chose him as their top candidate, board member Wayne Lindsey told the newspaper, which is based in Columbia, Tennessee, south of Nashville.

“I hate to go, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity,” Marczak said in a telephone interview on Thursday morning. “This has been my home for two years, and I’ve loved it.”

Marczak has also been a finalist for school director positions elsewhere, including in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Florida in February; and Alabama in April.

Marczak, 42, said he has many family members in the Nashville area, and they were sad to see him leave Middle Tennessee when he came to Oak Ridge two years ago. So, it’s like going home for Marczak, his wife, and four daughters.

Also, Marczak said, he now has the opportunity to lead his own school system.

Maury County has 12,000 students in 22 schools, compared to 4,500 students in nine schools in Oak Ridge.

“I get an opportunity to reach more kids,” Marczak said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity to lead.”

He said Maury County has an up-and-coming school system. A “Grow Maury County” initiative that includes business community investments in the school system kicked off Wednesday, Marczak said.

“They’ve got some big things going on,” he said. “I’ll be a major player in helping the Maury County Alliance invest heavily in public education in Maury County.”

A start date hasn’t been worked out yet in Maury County. Marczak said he has accepted the schools director position but hasn’t signed a contract yet.

Marczak was named assistant superintendent in Oak Ridge about two years ago, in June 2013. At the time, he was a network lead principal in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School system, where he oversaw five district elementary schools to “achieve learning gains with the integration of instructional technology and professional learning communities.” Marczak was selected in Oak Ridge from a field of 52 applicants.

He has served as an elementary school teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Most of his teaching and educational career has been in Middle Tennessee.

He said highlights of his time here include working with the Oak Ridge Board of Education to implement a balanced calendar that goes into effect this school year, helping Superintendent Bruce Borchers with the Seven Keys to Career and College Readiness, and the instructional coaches program, a “game changer” that has teachers teaching teachers.

Marczak is a Rhode Island native, and he has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and elementary education from Austin Peay State University. He earned a master of education degree in educational leadership in 2002, as well as a doctorate of education in leadership and professional practice in 2006 from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. In February 2013, he graduated from the Tennessee School Board’s Association Prospective Superintendent’s Academy.

He is an adjunct professor at two universities, Trevecca Nazarene and David Lipscomb, and teaches educational leadership.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.