Dr. Dicky Barlow has served as the Superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools (Birmingham, Alabama) since 2009. In this role, he collaborates with over 700 school system employees in order to provide an effective, challenging and engaging education for every one of Mountain Brook’s 4,400-plus students. Throughout his time at Mountain Brook, the school system has consistently been ranked the top public school in the state and among the top one percent of public schools nationally.
Prior to his appointment as Superintendent, Dr. Barlow served as Assistant Superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools during the 2008-2009 school year. Before joining the district’s central office staff, he worked at Mountain Brook High School as Principal (2001-2008) and Assistant Principal (1996-2001). Dr. Barlow also worked in the state of Georgia as an Assistant Principal, Student Intervention Specialist, teacher and coach for over 10 years.
Dr. Barlow completed his B.S and M.E degrees at Georgia State. He earned his Educational Specialist degree from the University of Montevallo before obtaining his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Samford University. Shortly after his time at Montevallo, he was named the 2008 Alumnus of the Year in Educational Leadership.
In 14 years as Superintendent, Dr. Barlow has set Mountain Brook Schools as the standard for K-12 public education in Alabama and the surrounding region. He led the way nationally to implement virtual learning structures in 2011 for students, create scalable instructional designs to promote learning innovation, establish a leadership development program for instructional leaders, co-found a community organization to protect and enhance the lives of youth, successfully campaigned for two community tax renewals and a property tax increase to fulfill community goals along with many other accomplishments.
Dr. Barlow is a member of the National Superintendents Leadership Network, Schlechty Network, Council of Leaders of Alabama Schools (Board member), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, School Superintendents of Alabama (Board member), American Heart Association (Board member), Anti-Drug Coalition and local groups such as All In Mountain Brook (Board member) and the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation (Board member). Dr. Barlow’s experience presenting spans over a variety of topics including everything from family to education. His spoke at a TED conference delivering a message titled “What One Man’s Life Taught a Community” and also has spoken about “Building a Family Legacy” and “Table Talk: The Importance of Family Conversations Around the Dinner Table.” More recently, Dr. Barlow has delivered presentations on “How To Make The Most Of Your High School Experience” and “Talking to Your Community about Counseling Standards” among other topics.
Dr. Barlow was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and is a graduate of Tucker High School. He and his wife, Betsy, have three children Luke, Kate and Sally.
Past AASA Alabama Superintendent of the Year Winners:
2022 Alabama Superintendent of the Year: Suzanne Lacey
2021 Alabama Superintendent of the Year: Chresal Threadgill
2020 Alabama Superintendent of the Year: Jeff Goodwin
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:
-
- Leadership for Learning
- Communication
- Professionalism
- Community Involvement