Dr. Stephen Martin
The end of the 2022-23 school year is a bittersweet time for the Watauga County Schools system. The county is saying goodbye to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Stephen Martin, who has been a member of Watauga County Schools since 2012. Dr. Martin is wrapping up a star-studded career in education. As a lifelong educator Dr. Martin will be incredibly missed by WCS staff and students.
Dr. Martin began his career in education 32 years ago in Caldwell County School district, and worked his way up to principal and elementary director in Caldwell, finally making the jump to Watauga County in 2012.
“I will be finishing a 32 year career in education spanning from teaching high school and middle school math, science, social studies, and health in 3 different schools,” Martin said.
As Assistant Superintendent Martin, was involved in almost every part of the school system, from being the Human Resources Director for the district to helping manage transportation.
“My position title is Assistant Superintendent, that includes human resources and also auxiliary services which encompasses maintenance, child nutrition, and transportation” Martin said. “I'm also the HR director.”
All of these responsibilities are important for the day-to-day function of Watauga County Schools, but Martin also sits on every hiring committee for the school system county-wide. This factor makes Martin an irreplaceable figure in the WCS community.
“I sit on all the interview teams in the district, and it is exciting to be able to hire great teachers, administrators, bus drivers, custodians, all the positions,” said Martin. “I will definitely miss that piece of it.”
Although leaving after 11 years will be difficult, Martin looks forward to more time spent playing golf and traveling during his retirement.
“I hope to have a lot more time to golf, maybe sleeping in, and doing a little bit of travel,” Martin said.
The past 11 years for Dr Martin, and WCS alike, have been full of prosperity and growth. The stable leadership team that was fostered by Dr. Martin, Dr. Elliott, and Tamera Stamey, have allowed the academics, sports, and various programs throughout WCS to prosper.
“Along with Dr. Elliott and Tamera Stamey, we provided a solid leadership team for the district,” Martin said. “I think we saw the school district grow academically. We have seen a growth in students and growth in the number of staff.”
During his career, Dr. Martin helped WCS succeed through COVID-19 and see growth in academics.
“Another side note is that we just persevered and overcame through COVID,” Martin said. “We found ways to try to keep school open, keep kids learning, and we saw some great academic growth that we weren't expecting.”
Alongside academic growth, as Athletic Director for the county Dr. Martin saw expansion in sports. At the middle school level offerings for sports increased and at the high school level sports teams excelled in conference championships.
“I think we have also seen our athletics grow,” said Martin. “Almost every sport in the fall finished first place in their conference so we are very strong in athletics. I am very proud.”
Dr. Stephen Martin’s retirement will be effective July 1, 2023, and will be ending a 32 year long career in education. This career spans 3 different school systems, and countless positions. His strong leadership, and experience will be incredibly missed at WCS.
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