Dr. Whitney Oakley is the superintendent of Guilford County Schools (GCS) in North Carolina, serving more than 68,000 PK-12 students and 10,000 employees at 124 schools. As the district’s first homegrown superintendent, Oakley is a long-time educator and school administrator with a proven track record of improving student learning outcomes.

A North Carolina native, Dr. Oakley began her career as an elementary school teacher before serving as an assistant principal and principal. Since 2012, Oakley has served the district in multiple leadership roles, including executive director of elementary curriculum, assistant superintendent of teaching, learning and professional development, chief academic officer and deputy superintendent.

In her roles as deputy superintendent and chief academic officer, Oakley developed the district’s instructional framework and standardized high-quality curriculum across elementary, middle and high schools to ensure equitable access to on-grade level content; led job-embedded professional learning initiatives for teachers; and implemented instructional programming and professional learning programs focused on English learners and exceptional children. She also spearheaded a 164-member task force in developing an award-winning school re-entry plan following COVID-19 school closures.

During her first year as superintendent, Dr. Oakley expanded the district’s nationally recognized learning recovery efforts, including high-dosage tutoring and learning hubs. In the 2022-2023 school year, GCS provided nearly 300,000 high-dosage tutoring sessions to 11,461 students, doubling the number of students served from the prior year. The district also deployed twelve new school safety strategies, secured nearly $20 million in grant funding to expand on-demand mental health services to all schools, and launched nine new school construction projects along with a $48 million allocation for deferred maintenance, technology and school safety projects as part of a voter-approved $2 billion school bond program.

Under Oakley’s leadership, the district removed the low-performing district designation. Three of its schools were selected as the top-ranking elementary, middle, and high schools in North Carolina, as recognized by the US World News & Report. Additionally, two GCS high schools stand out as the only ones in the state ranked among the top 40 this year, with one being the number one high school in the nation.

Throughout her career, Oakley has received several recognitions and awards for her extraordinary vision and leadership, including The Triad Business Journal 40 Leaders Under 40 Award, Wachovia Piedmont-Triad/Central Region’s Principal of the Year award in 2010, the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding visual and performing arts programming in 2020, The Triad Business Journal Women in Business Award in 2023 and Named 2023 Superintendent to Watch by National School Public Relations Association.

Oakley holds a Bachelor of Science in special education from East Carolina University, a Master of Education in elementary education from Greensboro College, a Specialist in Education and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.