Dr. Lundy Brantley is in his 26th year as an educator and sixth year as superintendent of the “A Rated” Neshoba County School District and eighth year as a superintendent overall. His vision for the NCSD is for all students to graduate college and career ready with courses, certifications, and external experiences beyond a high school diploma. Dr. Brantley has made a priority of completely changing the culture to
one of great expectations and changing from the “we can’t” to “we can” in the NCSD. During his tenure he has implemented computer science, added new dual credit courses, national industry certifications, and internship/apprenticeship opportunities. Courses such as Digital Media I&II and Engineering I&II were added to the course offerings. Block scheduling was implemented at NCHS and an eight period day at NCMS to enhance the educational opportunities for the students. In the last four years the district has spent over $13 million on infrastructure improvements to bring the district well into the 21st Century. There are currently $12 million in projects underway. Dr. Brantley embarked on a 1:1 initiative that was nearing completion when Covid-19 hit and was able to complete the initiative with the ESSER I dollars. During his tenure, Dyslexia Therapy has added at all three schools. In January of 2018 Brantley was able to partner with Neshoba General Hospital to locate a full clinic that employs a nurse practitioner on campus to assist with the wellness of staff and students.
The NCSD is now an “A Rated” district for the first time ever from the 2021-2022 school year rating higher (11th Ranked) than districts that have more resources and a lower free and reduced lunch count. Dr. Brantley is one of only a select number of superintendents to lead two districts to an “A Rating.” In Dr. Brantley’s first year the district moved from a “C” rating to a “B” rating with an 48 point increase during 2018 testing. The district increased 8 points during the 2019 testing and remained a “B” with all three school either an “A” or “B” for the first time. During this time period the NCSD has achieved its highest graduation rate ever of 89% from the class of 2021.
Over the course of five years, National Industry Certifications, NIMS, and OSHA 10 increased from seven test passed to 182 tests passed in 2022. During the 2021-2022 school year, the NCES Kindergarten scores were the number one district in Mississippi. From 2017-2021 the number of Mississippi Scholars increased from 17 to 53. In 2019, Brantley implemented the Mississippi Tech Masters Program with the class of 2021 having 37 Tech Masters. During the 2019 testing the NCSD was one of the top districts in College and Career Readiness and Acceleration. Recently Brantley completed a long term project of creating the Neshoba County School District Center for Manufacturing
and Innovation (M&I Center). The M&I Center is place with everything from welding capabilities, metal lathes, CNC Laser Cutter and 3D Printing for students to create any project they can imagine. In the evening the M&I Center will be used for workforce development in conjunction with East Central Community College Workforce Development. Brantley was also able to partner with ECCC to bring the Precision Machining course to the NCSD campus. He has also added Workforce Development classes for Welding during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
During his tenure, Dr. Brantley launched the “Read 20 Rockets” reading initiative for the NCSD to encourage students to read 20 minutes daily. In the Fall of 2020 Dr. Brantley instituted a social studies reading initiative for grades 6-12 to increase student knowledge and dive more deeply into complex historical topics.
Prior to becoming Superintendent in Neshoba County, Brantley was the Superintendent for the Union Public School District where the district was 8th ranked K-12 district in the state with an “A” rating in 2016. Union Elementary was the number one ranked elementary school in the state during that time. During his tenure in the UPSD, Brantley added six more dual credit courses to the curriculum along with
three more AP Courses. The process of implementing STEM began during the 16-17 school year as well as adding pre-AP courses in the middle school. In the fall of 2015 Brantley led the effort to bring CTE courses to the district from a cooperative agreement which added more opportunity for the students and saved $54,000. Brantley implemented internships in the UPSD during the 2016-2017 school year. During his two year stint, he began the process of renewing a 3 mill note for renovations of facilities and buses.
Before joining the superintendent ranks, Brantley was Principal at a very high profile Pearl High School for three years where they were an “A” rated high school. During his time in Pearl he increased the number of dual credit courses, added AP Art, and led increases in the graduation rate. During this time period, PHS had five National Merit Finalists. Also, Brantley implemented a BYOD policy for students
as well as podcasts and flipped classroom concepts.
Dr. Brantley was the Principal at Eupora High School (7-12) for two years. Eupora increased 10 QDI points in his first year alone and over two years, the 7th and 8th grade increased by 21 points over two years. Brantley implemented an intervention time based on score levels to increase student achievement and implemented benchmark assessments.
Before becoming a high school principal, Brantley was principal at Neshoba Central Elementary for two years. During his two years at NCES, Brantley implemented PLCs and increased the QDI by five points. Brantley implemented a summer library program as well as summer enrichment. Brantley departmentalized fifth grade and implemented team teaching in grades three and four. Prior to becoming a principal, Brantley was an assistant principal at the elementary and middle school levels. Before becoming an assistant principal, Dr. Brantley coached for nine years and taught World History and Physical Education.
Dr. Brantley is married to Paige Brantley. Paige is the MTSS, EL, and English Curriculum Coordinator at Neshoba Central Middle School.
Past AASA Mississippi Superintendent of the Year Winners:
2022 Mississippi Superintendent of the Year: Dr. John-Mark Cain
2021 Mississippi Superintendent of the Year: Matt Dillon
2020 Mississippi Superintendent of the Year: Wayne Rodolfich
About the Award:
The Superintendent of the Year program, sponsored by First Student and AASA, pays tribute to the talent and vision of the men and women who lead the nation’s public schools.
State-level winners are selected on the following criteria:
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- Leadership for Learning
- Communication
- Professionalism
- Community Involvement