History Month Banquet Speaker Announced

The Hardeman County Commission for Black History will hold their annual banquet will be Saturday, February 8, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hardeman County Board of Education Building on 208 Hope Street in Bolivar. Adult tickets are $30.00 and students (grades first through college) are $20.00. Also, a table of ten can be purchased and reserved for $300.00. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Marlon King (see photo above), Superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools.
Dr. Marlon King, a transformational leader in the state of Tennessee, became superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools in August of 2015. Born and raised in rural West Tennessee where he attended public schools, he has given back two decades of uninterrupted service and commitment to improving public schools. His career trajectory is unique amongst educators in Tennessee because of his wide-range of experiences that encompass being a teacher (Shelby County Schools - legacy), principal (Fayette County Schools), superintendent (Haywood and Fayette Counties), and an executive director (Tennessee Department of Education - CORE), all in Tennessee.
Dr. King has a proven record in improving many of Tennessee’s toughest schools and districts. He has built a reputation of turning schools around by promoting strong literacy programs with fidelity, recruiting and training school leaders, setting and expecting high standards for all, garnering community support and deep engagement, and managing fiscal services through a business-leader lens.
Under his leadership in both Haywood and Fayette school districts, graduation rates surpassed the state’s benchmark, ACT scores increased steadily, and based on the state’s accountability system, both districts moved from a Level 1 overall composite to achieving a Level 5 overall composite; these are just a few of his many achievements.
Dr. King serves on several boards and councils throughout the state including TOSS (Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents), LIFT ( Leading Innovation for Tennessee), and the Tennessee AdvancEd Council. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Dr. King and his wife, a middle school teacher, and their son, a student in FCPS, reside in Fayette County (Eads), Tennessee.
Photo courtesy of the Hardeman County Black History Month Committee.