Rogers board hires two administrators

ROGERS -- The School District has hired an administrator from the Bentonville district to be its next chief information officer.

Andy Mayes has been Bentonville's director of technology since 2012. Before that he worked seven years for the Fayetteville School District.

Mayes will replace Cris Carter, who is retiring this year. The School Board unanimously approved the move during a special meeting Tuesday.

The chief information officer's position requires several kinds of skills, said Roger Hill, assistant superintendent for human resources.

"There's a technical side, an educational side and a business side. Andy brings that to the table," Hill said.

Mayes began serving as a member of the Governor's Task Force for Computer Science Education last year. He's also president of the Arkansas Society for Technology in Education and is a member of both the Northwest Arkansas Technology Council and the Northwest Arkansas Project Management Institute.

Mayes also teaches Bentonville High School's Information Technology Solutions class, the pilot class for the school's new Ignite program. Ignite focuses on preparing high school students for jobs through partnerships with local businesses, nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs.

Mayes said he was drawn to the Rogers job by the promise of a new challenge and the opportunity to advance his career.

Also on Tuesday, the board approved hiring Jeff Hernandez as Oakdale Middle School's next principal.

Hernandez has been assistant principal at Lingle Middle School for four years. He previously was principal of Brookland Middle School in northeast Arkansas for three years and a junior high school assistant principal in Cabot for five years.

Hernandez earned a doctorate in educational administration and supervision in 2005 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

"Jeff has done a great job for us at Lingle," Hill said. "We are pleased to recommend him as principal at Oakdale Middle School."

NW News on 05/04/2016

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