Dodson reflects on her work in county schools:

Reflecting on her eight years as head of the Henry County Schools, Superintendent Sharon Dodson said a “culture of expectation” enabled the division to come a long way in spite of continued economic challenges.

“The legacy of my time here would be that together we created a culture of expectation,” Dodson said. “We expect students to learn, we expect teachers to teach, we expect administrators to be responsible and efficiently and fairly run the schools, and we expect the support staff to support the efforts of the teachers in the classroom.”
During her tenure, the schools were consolidated, numerous improvements were made to school buildings, and all 15 schools achieved full accreditation for the first time.
Then, during a school board meeting in October 2008, Dodson announced she would not seek to renew her current contract, which will expire Tuesday.
Dodson, 57, said she made the decision to step down because “I’m done. You just come to a point where you realize you’ve accomplished what brought you here.”
Also, she said, “since my own kids are through college and on their own now ... there’s no compelling reason to continue at this time. It’s just time.”
Dodson took the helm of Henry County Schools in the 2001-02 school year. Before that, she was superintendent of King William County public schools starting in 1996.
Dodson holds a doctorate in education administration and special education from Virginia Tech, as well as a certificate of advanced graduate studies in education administration and business. She also holds a master’s degree from Auburn University and a bachelor’s from the University of Kentucky, the state where she spent most of her childhood.
She has held many positions in education during her career, having worked as a teacher, school psychologist, director of student services, director of instruction and principal.
“I don’t look back much, not a whole lot,” Dodson said of her time as superintendent.
“I’m kind of the philosophy that ... sometimes circumstances require you to make a decision and make it right,” she said. That is “not to say there aren’t things we could’ve done better, but I think we just learn those lessons and apply what we’ve learned to decisions in the future.”
With the end of her contract just days away, Dodson said she is “not at liberty to discuss” what her next move will be.
“I’m excited about some of the opportunities that I’m looking at right now,” she said, adding she has “a number of options I’m not able to discuss in detail yet.”
Whether she remains in Henry County “depends on which way I decide to go,” she said.
Dodson’s husband, veterinarian Scott Noe, works in Bedford. The two have residences in both Bedford and Henry County, but Henry County is “our primary residence,” she said.
Regardless of her job plans, she said, “I’m going to immediately take some down time” and “take some time to sleep.”
Dodson said she will miss “the opportunity to interact with tomorrow’s future — the youngsters we have in our schools — and to see the hope for the future in what they’re learning. I really will miss that.”
However, she said, “I won’t miss the 24/7 nature of the position” and “some of the intractable problems presented every day.”
Dodson used the analogy of baking a cake to describe what challenges await her successor, Anthony DeWayne Jackson, who will start as Henry County superintendent in July.
“We’ve worked hard in Henry County the last eight years gathering up the ingredients. ... Everything’s assembled now,” she said. The challenge will be “baking the perfect cake.”

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