Rock Hill Schools announces superintendent finalists. Meet the 3 candidates
Rock Hill School District on Wednesday announced three finalists for superintendent who would all be new to the area.
The district selected Eric Bracy, superintendent of Johnston County Public Schools in eastern North Carolina; Deborah Elder, the chief operating officer of the Iowa Department of Education; and Joshua Starr, a Maryland-based former superintendent with nonprofit and corporate education experience..
Community members can meet the finalists at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the District Office, located at 386 East Black St.
Rock Hill superintendent finalists
Bracy has served as a superintendent in three North Carolina districts over the past 17 years. His current district has exceeded growth benchmarks since the pandemic, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction labeled it a top-performing district last school year, according to his bio.
The Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance named him its superintendent of the year in 2024.
Elder has served as the second-highest leader in Iowa’s education department since 2024. Before that, she held roles as interim superintendent, chief academic officer, principal and elementary school teacher. As principal, she raised her school’s state performance grade from a D to an A.
She’s also worked as the executive director of innovation and school choice for Albuquerque Public Schools, where she oversaw magnet and charter schools in the area.
Starr has worked across sectors in education. His first job in education was as a teacher in Brooklyn for “adolescents labeled severely emotionally disturbed,” according to his bio. He later became CEO of nonprofit PDK International, a professional membership organization for educators where he launched the nation’s first career and technical education program preparing high school students to become teachers.
In the corporate sector, he was a managing partner for the Center for Model Schools at the company HMH. There, he helped school leaders across the country with improvement efforts.
