N.C. A&T Alumni Times

N.C. A&T Alumna First African American Woman Superintendent of Robeson County School System

During a challenging time for the Public Schools of Robeson County, Dr. Shanita Wooten ’01 was recently named superintendent making her the first African American, first woman and the youngest person to serve in the role. Prior to landing this permanent position, she was the interim superintendent and assistant superintendent for the school system.

Wooten, a Lumberton native, has been in education for more than 15 years starting off as a high school biology teacher, then an assistant principal and principal in Robeson and Cumberland counties. As a child, she always knew that she wanted to be a superintendent and she is now living her dream by managing a school district with 23,000 students and 2,000 teachers.

“My parents influenced my steps going into education, they were both educators and they were the examples I needed to show me how to reach my goals,” said Wooten.

The journey to become superintendent wasn’t an easy one and Wooten was up for the challenge while serving in an interim role proving to the board her qualifications. Over the past couple of years, the school district has been challenged with low performing schools and continued recovery efforts from Hurricane Matthew.

“I believe I was able to secure the vote as superintendent due to my relationships with community members, teachers, parents and students, who spoke up on my behalf, said Wooten. “It’s a really good feeling knowing that people trust my ability and management skills.”

In the future, Wooten plans to work on increasing test scores and advocating for additional funding for new construction and new schools in Robeson County.

“Anytime there is something new, you will always be faced with resistance but I have the faith to overcome any challenge and to lead by example for the next generation of leaders,” said Wooten.

Wooten earned a doctorate in educational leadership and an educational specialist degree from Wingate University, a master’s in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a master’s of public health in community health education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She earned a bachelor’s in biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.