On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the Monroe County Board of Education approved Dr. Jim Finch as the next Monroe County Schools Superintendent.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the Monroe County School system and humbled by the board’s confidence in my ability to be the next superintendent,” says Dr. Jim Finch. “We are fortunate to live and work in a community where education is important and I firmly believe we have the best faculty and students in the state! I’m thankful for Dr. Hickman’s guidance for the past eight years and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead .”
Dr. Finch is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Operations in Monroe County Schools. Prior to that, he spent 15 years as the principal at Mary Persons High School and just completed his 29th year in education.
Dr. Finch received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Georgia Southern University in 1994 and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Georgia College and State University in 2001. In 2015, Dr. Finch defended his dissertation, The Effect of the Self-contained Ninth Grade Campus on Student Achievement Indicators, and received his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Valdosta State University.
Dr. Finch began his teaching career in 1994 as a math teacher and coach at Peach County High School in Fort Valley, GA. While at Peach County, Dr. Finch taught math for ten years and served as the math department chair for the last five of those. He served as assistant principal during his last two years at Peach County High. In addition to his instructional and supervisory duties, Dr. Finch coached football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and golf during his 12 years in Fort Valley. Dr. Finch coached in the 1998, 2003, and 2005 AAA state championship football games, serving as defensive coordinator in those latter two games and winning the AAA state championship in 2005. At the conclusion of the 2005-2006 school year, Dr. Finch made the transition to principal.
Dr. Finch is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL), and the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals (GASSP). He is a member of the PAGE Principal Leadership Network and served on the Board of Trustees for the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) from 2016-2022.
Dr. Finch is currently serving as the President of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA). Additionally, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL, 2018-2020) and for the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals (GASSP, 2016-2021). Dr. Finch served as President, Vice President, Past President, and State Coordinator for GASSP and was Georgia’s advocacy delegate in Washington, D.C. to NASSP during the 2014-2017 school years. He has served as a lecturer and guest presenter for local RESA’s as well as the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders.
Dr. Finch’s wife, Kelli, is a real estate agent in the middle Georgia area. They have four children – Kennedy (MP ‘18) , a graduate assistant working on her Masters degree at Georgia Southern University, Jimbo (MP ‘20) is a senior at Georgia Southern University, Carli, a rising 7th grader at Monroe County Middle School, and Max, a rising 5th grade student at TG Scott.
Dr. Finch will replace outgoing Superintendent Dr. Mike Hickman, who will retire at the end of the month.
You are invited to a Meet & Greet Celebration for Dr. Finch on Wednesday, June 28th at 4 p.m. It will be held in the Monroe County Fine Arts Center lobby.