Timeline of the Hamilton County superintendent’s first year on the job:

June 9, 2017 — Interview:

Clarksville Montgomery County School System’s Chief Academic Officer Bryan Johnson interviews for the superintendent position. Johnson was one of five finalists for the job.

June 15 — Board Votes:

In a 5-4 vote, the Hamilton County Board of Education chooses Johnson to be the next leader of the school district. After nearly 15 months in which the board was divided on whether it should keep Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly, the board decided in a tense vote it needed “bold change.”

August 8 — Welcome Reception:

Johnson lays out his vision and meets with community members at a welcome reception for the new superintendent at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. One thing Johnson shares is that “We’re going to stretch ourselves and when we don’t meet our targets, we’re going to talk about the plan we have to move to the next level.”

August 17 — Opportunity Zone:

With the threat of a state takeover of five of the district’s lowest-performing schools, Johnson lays out a plan for 12 struggling schools and launches the Opportunity Zone.

October 19 — Capital Plans:

The school board unanimously approves Johnson’s plan for the $100 million allotted for school capital projects by the County Commission, despite controversy about the plan being rushed onto the agenda and board members being ill-informed about the contents of the plan.

February 8, 2018 — Partnership Network:

The Tennessee Department of Education, in an effort to leave control of the five worst-performing schools at the local level, proposes a Partnership Network model. The school board approves the partnership with the state, which includes opportunities for extra funding for those schools, and an additional advisory board to help hold the work within the Partnership Network accountable.

February 15 — Reorganization:

In an ongoing effort to reorganize the staffing of the district, especially at the central office level, Johnson lays out a plan to offer retirement incentives to encourage some long-time system employees to retire. Over the course of the year, Johnson also elevates or fills more than 12 positions, including a new “c-suite”. By the end of the 2017-2018 school year, more than 150 employees choose to retire and about 19 schools will start the 2018-2019 school year with a new principal.

March 15 — Future Ready Institutes:

The district launches one of the largest new initiatives in decades, small learning academies to be embedded in traditional high schools. The academies, or Future Ready Institutes, will bring together industry and business partners and focus around an industry theme, offering certifications, industry credentials and other work-based learning and career and technical education programs to students. The institutes will officially launch for the 2018-2019 school year.

March 22 — Equity Task Force:

Johnson, who previously had hired a chief equity officer, launches an Equity Task Force, aimed at addressing problems and challenges among different groups of students in Hamilton County Schools. The plan is initially presented at the school board’s March meeting.

June 27 — Budget Passes:

The Hamilton County Commission passes the 2018-2019 budget, 64 percent of which will go to the school district. The school board approved Johnson’s proposed budget in April, which included reallocating funds for several priorities including arts teachers, school resource officers and English Language teachers.

July 13 — Evaluation:

The nine Hamilton County school board members’ evaluations and Johnson’s self-appraisal are publicly released. Though two board members rated him low, overall they were happy with Johnson’s progress in his first year as superintendent.