Joining her is former Lakota teacher — and a superintendent candidate from 2023 — Ashley Whitely, who is assistant superintendent of Hamilton County’s Wyoming Schools.
Lakota officials announced the two finalists recently chosen among a pool of candidates compiled through a national education recruitment firm Finding Leaders, contracted by the district, which is the eighth largest in Ohio and Butler County’s biggest public school system.
“We were very impressed by the extensive outreach by Finding Leaders,” said Lakota Board of Education President Julie Shaffer.
“After our initial interviews, two candidates stood out to the board, (and) both candidates bring a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to public education, making them excellent choices for the next superintendent of Lakota Local Schools,” said Shaffer.
According to a statement released by Lakota officials, Davis’ “previous years of administrative experience in public education include roles as an assistant principal, associate principal and principal in addition to a leadership role to expand the reach of Grant Us Hope, a national suicide prevention program.”
“Most recently, she has increased personalized student support by revitalizing special education service delivery. Davis has also participated in the high school redesign initiative, integrating workforce development and practical skills into the curriculum. She drove transformative instructional change, leveraging data analytics to significantly boost student academic performance.”
“Previously, she served as the principal at Lakota East High School, where she amplified student voice by creating an empowering school environment that valued different perspectives and experiences,” said Lakota officials.
Whitely, who was a finalist in 2023 for the top Lakota position, which eventually went to Interim Superintendent and former Dayton Public Schools leader Elizabeth Lolli, also has Lakota East ties.
Whitely once worked at East as an English teacher and chair of the English department for half a decade prior to moving on from the district and up through the district leadership ranks at Wyoming Schools.
She is described by Lakota officials as having co-developed a Strategic Plan and the complementing ‘Attributes of a Learner’ to articulate the five-year vision after engaging stakeholders to gather input at Wyoming.
“Whitely has led and supported principals in implementing curriculum changes to assess school performance and improvement initiatives to increase student performance and success. She has also developed new student pathways and opportunities for future success through the Business Advisory Council (BAC).”
Lakota board members said they hope to hire a new superintendent by mid-May.
Next in the process: the school board has invited members of the Lakota community to participate in a final round of interviews on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Officials said about 45 participants will represent staff, parents, students, administrators, community members and business professionals.
“Each group will designate one spokesperson to ask the candidates questions that they collectively develop while the other participants, including the board, will observe. Each candidate will then have a final interview with the board.”
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