‘Welcome home’
Russellville board hires familiar face to lead district
Mark Gotcher was the “overwhelmingly perfect fit” to be superintendent of the Russellville School District, Board President Chris Cloud said.
Gotcher, deputy commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education, was unanimously hired in February to lead the 5,200-student district after Superintendent Randall Williams retires June 30.
Gotcher, 52, received a three-year contract with an annual salary of $168,000, plus a $1,200 vehicle allowance per month. He was chosen from among 18 applicants for the job.
He isn’t new to the district — Gotcher served as principal of Crawford Elementary School from 2007-2013, and before that, he was an elementary school music teacher in Russellville and assistant principal at the middle school and junior high.
“‘Welcome home, Mark’ — that was our
prevailing theme after the vote,” Cloud said.
Gotcher said the No. 1 reason he applied for the Russellville superintendent position is because “it’s home.”
A graduate of Arkansas Tech University, he’s lived in Russellville since 1983, when he went to Arkansas Tech University on a vocal scholarship. Gotcher said as the son of a minister, he “grew up all over the place” and graduated from Rogers High School.
Gotcher imagined himself singing professionally, but he took the advice to get his education hours. He received a master’s and educational specialist degree in educational leadership. Gotcher did his student teaching at Russellville High School.
“Once I started teaching, I realized that’s where I wanted to be; I loved education,” he said.
His first job was as a music teacher in the Hector School District; then he moved to Dardanelle as a choir director in grades six through 12 before taking a position as kindergarten-through-fourth-grade music teacher at Center Valley Elementary School in Russellville. He served as assistant principal at Russellville middle school and junior high before becoming principal of Crawford Elementary School in Russellville.
“I think as a musician, as a music teacher, I loved kindergarten. They’re enthusiastic, and you’re the hero of the day,” Gotcher said. When his
kindergarten students heard him sing “Hound Dog,” by Elvis, “they were convinced I wrote it,” he said, laughing. As a principal, Gotcher said, he preferred the junior high level.
His first superintendency was for the Atkins School District, where he served two years before taking the job in 2015 at the Arkansas Department of Education. He also earned a doctorate in educational leadership in 2015 from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
Gotcher said he viewed his time as Atkins superintendent, 2013- 2015, “as a g reat opportunity to get experience to become the Russellville superintendent.”
He said it was “bittersweet” to leave Atkins, but when Commissioner Johnny Key called Gotcher to come to the state Department of Education, it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
“I have loved serving. … It’s a dream come true,” he said. “The greatest thing a deputy commissioner gets to do is serve and support.”
In addition to working with assistant commissioners, he spoke on behalf of Key when the commissioner was unavailable. Gotcher’s duties also included discussing issues with legislators.
Cloud said Gotcher’s experience at the Department of Education is invaluable.
“The experience that he’s had at the Department of Education the last two years, I mean, my goodness,” Cloud said. “He has seen the good and the bad in the districts.”
Gotcher said it’s true that his experience on the state
level is an advantage for the Russellville district.
“This position has provided me a state perspective that very few superintendents get to learn,” he said, from the struggles in hiring and retaining teachers to the financial struggles districts experience.
Russellville is strong financially, he said.
“Russellville has always been successful financially; Mr. Williams has done a fantastic job,” Gotcher said.
Gotcher said his connections in the state Department of Education will be a plus, too.
“They will obviously be able to assist me as I take the reins to come back as a superintendent,” he said.
He’s honed his listening skills at the Department of Education. He traveled the state listening to stakeholders in a 10-city listening tour that ended before Christmas.
Gotcher said he learned that districts want flexibility, and they don’t want to be measured on a single test score.
During his board interview, Gotcher presented a “listen-and-engage plan” for the district, which includes a 10-day phone community outreach to contact students, teachers, parents, residents and business leaders within the first 60 days “to build community relationships.”
“I really do like the 10-a-day telephone outreach,” he said, because “that’s a very personal touch.”
“I want to know three things: What do we need to stop doing as a district, what do we need to start doing, and what do we need to continue doing as a district?” he said.
Gotcher said “listening and engaging with every aspect of the community is leading as a team instead of leading by yourself.”
“A good merit of a leader is to see who’s following,” he said. “I’ve always believed in team leadership; it’s never a Moseson-the-Mountain approach to leadership.”
He also plans to conduct town-hall meetings, and Twitter town-hall and Facebook Live events.
In addition, Gotcher said, he will send a letter to parents and employees of the district to introduce himself and create a focus team to support an improvement plan for all the schools.
Cloud said membe r s worked together well during the hiring process.
“The teamwork we have is just unbelievable,” he said. “The affirmation that Mark has received from the community … it’s been unbelievably overwhelmingly positive. It’s an affirmation that it’s God’s will that Mark be here, and it’s affirmation to the board that we picked the right guy.”
Cloud said Gotcher is an “incredible family man; he’s well-respected in the community; he has strong Christian values.”
Gotcher and his wife, Laura, have four children: Audrey Taylor, 25, who is married to Andrew, and their two children, Nate and Melody Faith; Reed Gotcher, 22; Corban Gotcher, 20; and Meeghan Gotcher, 17.