(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Superintendent Jason Harris of the Columbia School District.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 11, 1974.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I graduated from Norfolk public schools and I have two degrees from Old Dominion University and I have a degree from Mississippi State. I’ll have two degrees from Mississippi State when I finish my dissertation.
Q: Where have you lived?
A: I have lived in Virginia, various parts of Hampton Roads, and in Mississippi. I have lived in Columbus, Tupelo and now Columbia.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I am the superintendent of schools and my job is to oversee the school system in its entirety. Things I’ll do on a daily basis include looking at the operation and management of the school systems, how it functions, different things that go into the financial and instructional aspects, administrative supervision to the principals and the central office staff.
Q: What was your first job? Most unusual job?
A: The first job I ever had was I delivered documents to medical companies. My most unusual job was more unusual to me than truly unusual, but I drove a linen truck when I graduated college.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your career or life?
A: In my life, it would have to be my parents, Quinn and Clementine; I couldn’t pick either one. In my business, you’re fortunate to see people who have good parents and unfortunately, you see the people who don’t. In my career, I would have to say my high school baseball coach, Ted Daughtry. He’s the one who really got me into this and had the influence on me when I was in high school.
Q: What is your spouse’s name? What does she do for a living?
A: Tamra. She is an insurance agent for an independent insurance broker. They do supplemental insurance benefits for school systems across Mississippi and Alabama.
Q: Do you have any children?
A: We have four; Madalyn, John David, Jacob and Patton. We’ll have three here in the CSD and Madalyn will be a freshman at Itawamba Community College in the fall.
Q: Where do you attend church?
A: We’re going to visit some in the area and see what best fits our family.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: A good cheeseburger.
Q: Do you like to travel?
A: I do, but I don’t really have a preference as to where. I enjoy going anywhere and learning a new tradition or culture that I can personally use within my profession. Education in itself is worldly now, so it helps to learn new cultures.
Q: What hobbies/activities do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I enjoy fishing, boating, hunting and college football.
Q: How long have you been in Columbia/Marion County?
A: Effectively in a house for only two days. I’ve been transitioning throughout the month of June, but not really as a resident. I’ve been working during the week and then going back on the weekends. It’s been helpful to my transition to get familiar with the operation of the school system.
Q: What do you enjoy most about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I really enjoy the people. They’re just good, small-town, nice, genuine people. They’re always there to help you and they care about the community and the citizens in their community.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: Somebody who was really intriguing to me was Ronald Reagan. How a person could go from a movie star and then become the most powerful person in the world intrigues me. The way he was able to run the presidency using a lot of what he did as an actor and coming in as an already wealthy man, he’s just very intriguing in how he was able to be a successful president. Twenty years later, he’s looked at as this person who took a different view of the economy and how it should be run. It’s just interesting.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: Someone who made an impact on students and gave them every opportunity to do what they wanted to do. Public education is so much about the test score now and a test score is not who people are. In every profession, people are judged by a test score or whether or not they have a degree. There’s a lot of successful people who don’t have a college degree. We define schools and schools systems on how many students they send to college and that’s not a good way to judge success. You can go to school, get a good education, be successful and make a good living without ever going to college. I want students to come and enjoy school and prepare them to do what they want to do.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
A: When your first child is born, it changes you, especially in our profession. I had started out in this profession without children and then when you teach and don’t have children, you have a different perspective. That doesn’t mean you can’t be an effective teacher if you don’t have children, but it makes a difference. You see the importance of what you do in this profession when you have children, so I would have to go with the birth of my first child.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: Watch a good movie. I’m a visual learner and I think I relate better to a movie. I enjoy reading, but I think that I do so much reading throughout the day that I enjoy just sitting back and watching a story instead.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Jason Harris is the new superintendent of the Columbia School District. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
