6 education administrators take on new roles at Cumberland County Schools

Six new district-level administrators will help lead Cumberland County Schools in new roles for the coming school year.

The Board of Education approved the appointments on the recommendation of Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr., according to a school system news release.

Their appointments follow the retirements of five associate superintendents this summer.

The new leaders are:

• Jane Fields, associate superintendent of school support. Fields joined the district in 1996 as a social studies teacher at Douglas Byrd High School. She received her master’s degree in school administration from East Carolina University, then earned an education specialist degree in 2013 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2016 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She most recently was CCS assistant superintendent of K-12 curriculum and instruction and assistant superintendent of secondary education.
• Jay Toland, associate superintendent of business operations. Toland most recently was assistant city manager and chief financial officer for the city of Fayetteville. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2007 and has worked in the Sandhills area since 2001. Toland previously was assistant finance officer for the Hoke County Board of Education and chief financial officer for the Scotland County Board of Education.
• Melody Chalmers McClain, associate superintendent of student support services. McClain, who joined CCS in 2004, earned her master’s degree in school administration from Fayetteville State University in 2005. In 2018, she was named assistant superintendent of transformation and strategic initiatives. She was previously and is currently a member of the N.C. Principals Advisory Council; the board of the N.C. Association of Principals and Assistant Principals; and the Governor’s Commission on Access to a Sound Basic Education.
• Kevin Coleman, associate superintendent of auxiliary services. Coleman joined CCS in 1997 as a teacher at Rockfish Elementary School and became assistant principal at Bill Hefner Elementary School. He earned his master’s degree in school administration from Fayetteville State University in 2005. As CCS executive director of technology when the COVID-19 pandemic led to expanded remote learning, Coleman led implementation of student and teacher support initiatives.
• Kimberly Nash, executive director of data and accountability. Nash joined CCS in 1994 as a mathematics teacher at Terry Sanford High School. She earned her master’s degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2009 before becoming assistant principal at Gray’s Creek High School. Most recently, Nash was the coordinator of CCS’ secondary curriculum and instruction services programs.
• Maria Pierce-Ford, executive director of federal programs. Having joined CCS in 1994, she was a biology teacher at Westover High School and E.E. Smith High School, then assistant principal at John Griffin Middle School. Pierce-Ford earned her master’s degree in school administration from Fayetteville State University in 2006. Over 13 years, she was principal at several schools, then was named Title I coordinator of federal programs. She is a member of the National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators and National Alliance of Black School Educators.