
{"id":2712,"date":"2008-06-04T11:06:45","date_gmt":"2008-06-04T19:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=2712"},"modified":"2008-06-04T11:11:13","modified_gmt":"2008-06-04T19:11:13","slug":"scroggs-calls-it-a-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/06\/04\/scroggs-calls-it-a-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Scroggs calls it a day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Susan Dickson<\/em><br \/>\nWhen Steve Scroggs began his first day as assistant superintendent for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, he sat outside his office and cried. After nearly 30 years working directly with children, Scroggs had made the transition to school administration, and found himself a little lonely.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was the first time there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a child to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGood morning, Mr. Scroggs,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. He got through the day by going to the nearby pre-kindergarten to find a child to give him a hug and say good morning.<br \/>\nScroggs has spent the past eight years serving as assistant superintendent for support services for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the past 35 years working in North Carolina public schools. This Friday, Scroggs will step down from his post to retire, and he will surely be missed.<!--more--><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He loves people, he loves kids, and to me he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably the most gifted person, the most talented person I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever worked with,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Superintendent Neil Pedersen said.<br \/>\nScroggs enthusiasm for education, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in particular, is undeniable. Each day, donning a bowtie and a smile, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s led the district through a period of massive growth, overseeing the construction of five schools over eight years.<br \/>\nHe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worked late into the night on redistricting maps, transportation plans and school sites.<br \/>\nScroggs is emotional when he talks about his work in education.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a good run,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I tell people, not jokingly, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a pretty good assistant superintendent and I was a hell of a principal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nHe knew early on that he wanted to go into education, deciding as a high school student that he wanted to be a teacher.<br \/>\nEducation runs in Scroggs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 family. His mother was long-time Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools school board member Mary Scroggs, for whom Mary Scroggs Elementary is named.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Education was king in our house,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. Scroggs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 mother is known for her work toward desegregation as well as for the construction of several schools at a time when schools were extremely overcrowded.<br \/>\nScroggs got his start in education as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Mauritania.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I honestly think the Peace Corps set me up beautifully in my career,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, adding that his experience taught him that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need materials to teach.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What matters is what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done to make kids\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lives better,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Scroggs said.<br \/>\nScroggs took his experience back to North Carolina, where he served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the Lenoir County Schools. While Scroggs was principal of Teachers Memorial School in Kinston, his school won the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Entrepreneurial Award, which is given to schools that take risks. Scroggs first met Pedersen at the award ceremony, because McDougle Middle School was also being considered for the award. After 24 years in Lenoir County Schools, Scroggs started thinking about Chapel Hill again.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I got interested in coming home,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<br \/>\nScroggs returned to Chapel Hill to serve as principal of McDougle Elementary School and later was appointed assistant superintendent of support services.<br \/>\nAlthough he no longer worked directly with kids, Scroggs said he loved his job because what he did helped to make school better for children.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can see the differences we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made for kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have been able to do good things for kids.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What we do does make a difference. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only reason we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really in the business.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nScroggs said he has especially enjoyed working with his support staff and Pedersen.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think people realize how lucky we are to have Neil,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<br \/>\nAlthough Scroggs had thought about retiring before, it never seemed like the right time. In February, he found himself with a window between projects.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All these things kind of fell into place,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to look out for Steve for a little bit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nAlthough he believes the district is headed in the right direction, Scroggs said Chapel Hill-Carrboro still faces several challenges as it grows.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think the biggest challenge in this district is eliminating the achievement gap,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I believe very strongly, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcall\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcall.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nAfter retiring, Scroggs said he wants to take a break to spend time with his wife, Rita, cooking and gardening, but would like to come back to work part-time on particular school projects.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I still have things to contribute to a school district,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. His two sons are continuing the family work in education as well \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one works at Smith Middle School and the other is a student in UNC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s School of Education.<br \/>\n On Sunday, Scroggs spent the day packing up his office.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I knew it was going to be a bad day, and it was,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. Just as on his first day as assistant superintendent, Scroggs broke down and cried.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love [my job] with a passion,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I hope people realized we were trying to do what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best for kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he continued. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had anybody tell me any different.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Susan Dickson When Steve Scroggs began his first day as assistant superintendent for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, he sat outside his office and cried. After nearly 30 years working directly with children, Scroggs had made the transition to school administration, and found himself a little lonely. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was the first time there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-schools","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}