Whitney Oakley, Ed.D., Superintendent

Dr. Whitney Oakley is the fifth superintendent of Guilford County Schools (GCS), serving more than 66,000 PK-12 students and 10,000 employees at 120 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. 

Raised in Greensboro, N.C., Oakley attended GCS from kindergarten to high school. She began her career in GCS as a teacher at Frazier Elementary before serving as an assistant principal and principal in a neighboring county. Since 2012, Oakley has served GCS 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. 

After being appointed superintendent in the fall of 2022, Oakley launched a series of community conversations to inform Better Together, the district’s new strategic direction with a singular focus to make GCS the best place to learn, work and grow. Better Together is the culmination of more than 200 community conversations and was shaped with the input of 8,000 stakeholders during phases one and two. 

During her first year as superintendent, Dr. Oakley expanded the district’s nationally recognized learning recovery efforts, including high-dosage tutoring and learning hubs. The district increased the number of students receiving high-dosage tutoring from 5,251 students tutored for a total of 66,910 hours in over 109K sessions in 2021-22 to 17,348 students tutored for a total of 250,493 hours in over 486K sessions in 2023-24. 

In preparation for the end of the federal funds that supported those programs, Oakley led district leaders through a logic model process to manage and evaluate the district’s work. This involved prioritizing and strategically budgeting to fund initiatives with the strongest evidence of success. Internally, Oakley implemented a change management structure that aligned schools into six school zone feeder patterns and created an instructional and non-instructional central office support system for each zone. The advantages of this structure enable principal supervisors to focus on supporting principals and instruction in schools to improve learning outcomes for students.  

Dr. Oakley is committed to addressing barriers to student success and achievement. During her tenure, GCS has seen an increase from 62 schools meeting or exceeding academic growth in 2021-22 to 92 schools meeting or exceeding expected growth in 2023-24, an increase of 30 schools in two years. All student groups (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, Students with Disabilities, and English Learners) met or exceeded academic growth in reading for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, Black, Hispanic, and White students met growth in math, disrupting a pattern of not meeting growth in the previous three years. All student groups met or exceeded growth in 2022-23 and 2023-24 in science. There was a decline from 65 schools receiving a grade of D or F in 2021-22 to 54 schools in 2023-24. During this time, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction removed the low-performing school designation from Guilford County Schools. In the 2023-24 school year, Guilford County Schools claimed the number one high school in the state and nation, the Early College at Guilford, and the number one elementary, middle and high schools in the state, according to the US World News & Report.

Additionally, Dr. Oakley remains committed to ensuring that every student is prepared and can thrive once they leave GCS. During the 2023-24 school year, GCS achieved the highest cohort graduation rate in the district's history at 92.2%, including the highest graduation rates for African American students at 91.1%, Hispanic students at 89.8%, and Students with Disabilities at 75.8%. The district also maintained the highest cohort graduation rate among the largest districts in North Carolina, including the state's overall cohort graduation rate. In 2023-24, GCS students took more than 10,000 college courses and earned nearly 11,000 CTE credentials, a 263% increase over four years. The district also received $1.5 million in funds from Toyota to support career and technical education initiatives that will benefit the local workforce.  

Under Oakley's leadership, Guilford County Schools is managing $2 billion in school construction bonds, one of the largest bond programs in North Carolina. The district also implemented a comprehensive strategy to increase safety measures in schools, and increased access to its telehealth and mental health supports, deploying nearly $30 million to support mental health for students.  

Throughout her career, Oakley has received several recognitions and awards for her extraordinary vision and leadership, including the Informing Progress in Urban Education Research Award in 2024 and the Advancing Excellence and Equity in Urban Education Curriculum Leadership Award in 2023, both from the Council of Great City Schools; The Triad Business Journal 40 Leaders Under 40 Award; The Triad Business Journal Women in Business Award in 2023; and was named 2023 Superintendent to Watch by the National School Public Relations Association. She also received the Excellence in Education Data Award from the Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research and the North Carolina School Public Relations Gold Award for the GCS Reopening Plan in 2021. Dr. Oakley is a thought leader in the broader conversation about public education, frequently contributing interviews and opinion pieces with national, state and local media.  

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 (UNCG). She lives in Guilford County with her husband and two children, both of whom are currently enrolled in GCS.