Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Executive Director Dr. Germain McConnell announced Tuesday that he has been hired as chief of staff for the Oxford School District.
During a Columbus Rotary Club meeting, McConnell said God led him to Columbus to serve at MSMS, but now the time has come for him to return to Oxford.
“When I first came to Columbus, my pastor said to me that ‘you’re not just going to MSMS’ I knew exactly what he meant,” he said. “My focus, wherever, I am, wherever God drops me … is on serving, making sure that I am being used so as to carry out God’s plan in my life. I tell everybody that because that’s my story. I’m here in Columbus because God led me here. Now, God has called me away from Columbus.”
Listed on the Oxford School District’s website as a member of Superintendent Bradley Roberson’s cabinet, McConnell’s first day as chief of staff begins Jan. 1, 2022. McConnell plans to stay at MSMS through December.
McConnell said MSMS, a residential school, has 237 students — top juniors and seniors from across the state — who plan on attending school in the fall. Oxford’s school district has more than 4,500 students, according to the school district’s website.
Prior to coming to MSMS in 2011 as director of academic affairs, and being promoted to executive director in 2013, he served 11 years as assistant professor and assistant dean for the University of Mississippi College of Education.
“I came from Oxford, so I’m kind of going back to Oxford — just not at the university. I’m looking forward to a different kind of challenge and opportunity to impact more students at a local level,” McConnell said. “I’m excited about how I can be utilized to impact students.”
During McConnell’s eight-year tenure leading MSMS, the school climbed the charts from being ranked 357th best public high school to being among the top 10 best high schools in the nation by Niche, a nationally prominent school ranking service.
Niche ranks MSMS as the sixth best standout school in the nation, as the 12th best public high school in the nation and as No. 1 in Mississippi. MSMS faculty has been ranked by Niche as the best in the nation for the past four years.
McConnell said he’s excited about MSMS’s potential for the upcoming school year, so that’s why he thinks it’s important to give the Department of Education and the state Board of Education time to conduct a search. He said being executive director is so unique from any other superintendent’s job because MSMS is a residential high school and a unique place that attracts students from all over the state, “and those are some of the great things about the school, but it comes with challenges.”
MDE is poised to begin the search process with plans to fill the position before the end of the fall semester, said Nathan Oakley, chief academic officer.
Oakley said MDE has been in touch with various stakeholders during the past few weeks as it prepares to advertise for this position. He said there are no plans to hire a search firm for this process.
“We intend to cast a net nationwide to find a passionate, collaborative leader to continue the work of Dr. McConnell and his predecessors,” Oakley said.
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