Clayton County Schools’ new superintendent aims to 'build a better tomorrow, today' for students

October 24th, 2023

Clayton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony W. Smith (Photo Credit: Clayton County Public Schools)

This past summer, Dr. Anthony W. Smith began his new role as Clayton County Schools’ new superintendent. His new position follows decades of working within the school district, where he started as a computer technology teacher.

Now, he leads Georgia’s fifth-largest school district, overseeing the education of 50,000 students. Smith said he’s coming to the job with several goals, including improving academic achievement, cultivating a culture of safety, maintaining financial stability and sustainability, strengthening organizational structure and enhancing infrastructure and new facilities.

Speaking on “Closer Look with Rose Scott,” Smith says he’s living by the mantra of “building a better tomorrow, today” for the school district.

“That mantra speaks to urgency,” said Smith. “We owned up to the realization that our system, particularly from an infrastructure standpoint, is a bit outdated comparatively speaking with our other metro school systems. So, building a better tomorrow, today speaks to that urgency.”

Smith added that the district must hit the ground running in order to catch up and help students compete with neighboring school districts.