Interim Shaker Heights Schools Superintendent Named

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — Stephen Wilkins has been named the interim superintendent of Shaker Heights Schools. He will temporarily replace the departing Gregory Hutchings, while the Board of Education seeks a full-time, permanent replacement.

The interim superintendent will be appointed at the May 8 Board of Education meeting. The district will then begin its search for a permanent replacement in the late summer of 2018.

Wilkins is currently the district's assistant superintendent of business operations and human resources. He will return to that role when his time as interim superintendent comes to an end.

Wilkins is a retired Colonel with the U.S. Army and a West Point graduate. He served in active for more than two decades, the school district said. He was an assistant professor at West Point and had stints at the Pentagon and the White House.

His academic career included stints with the Chicago Public Schools, the Alexandria Public Schools in Virginia, and the Dekalb County Schools in Georgia before he came to Shaker Heights. He has a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and is fluent in Spanish. he recently earned his doctorate degree.

Wilkins will be charged with holding down the proverbial fort while the district searches for Hutchings' replacement. Hutchings is returning to his hometown of Alexandria, Va. where he will become superintendent of the Alexandria City Public Schools.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Hutchings during his time here in Shaker and we are extremely grateful for all of his efforts, which leave Shaker Heights Schools in a stronger position going forward," said Shaker Heights Board of Education President Alex Liston Dykema.

Hutchings has been the district's superintendent since 2013.

Photo from Shaker Heights Schools