New superintendent at Itawamba County schools settles in
Austin Alexander looks forward to building on the tradition of excellence and introducing more technology into the classrooms
ITAWAMBA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The path to the superintendent’s office at Itawamba County Schools began with a trip to Northeast Mississippi for a swim meet for one of Austin Alexander’s sons.
“While we were up here we took an afternoon, headed east on 22 drove around Itawamba County, and fell in love with the landscape,” he said.
Alexander was the principal at Pearl River Central High School and early this year learned about the opening for superintendent in Itawamba County.
He applied and was chosen from a field of 11 applicants.
His first official day on the job was July 1 and he has already held a conference with the district’s principals and assistant principals.
Alexander, his wife, and four children are settling into their new home and community.
“Itawamba County is a great school district, historically a great district, historically a great district, so my kids getting opportunities themselves drives my passion to make sure we keep moving forward,” Alexander said.
Alexander said he is glad to be stepping in to lead the district and one of his main goals is to make sure students and teachers have the latest technology in the classroom.
“There are so many things coming out, whether it is programs, AI, helping our teachers utilize that in the classroom, keeping up with that is huge, we have had a lot of conversations about putting things in place to support our schools, and still venturing out and finding new things out there that can make them more efficient, to give them time to build relationships with their kids,” Alexander said.
Alexander is also looking forward to the expansion of the district’s career and technical center to include additional programs such as cosmetology.
“We want to continue to build more relationships with industry so we know what they need and you will see that with this expansion coming this year,” he said.
The new superintendent also looks forward to meeting with local lawmakers about programs, grants, and funding needs for the district.
Superintendent Alexander is from the Hattiesburg area. He has also served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and athletic director.
