July 1 marked the first day on the job for Covington County School’s newly appointed interim superintendent Terry Holley.

The nearly 33-year veteran of the education field said it’s his goal to “carry on the tradition of the Covington County Schools.”

“It has always been this system’s goal to provide the best education possible for the students of Covington County,” Holley said. “It’s the same tradition that each of the schools within this system have. We all want to work together with each community to create the best education system around.”

And working to provide a great education system is something Holley knows a little about – he’s worked the last 30 years as an educator in the Florala. He served as a teacher/coach at W.S. Harlan Elementary School and later principal. From there, he moved to Florala City Middle School and eventually to Florala High School, where he served as principal until being named interim superintendent.

Under his tutelage, FHS achieved high test scores and was also named as one of “American’s Best High Schools” by U.S. News & World Report.

“Mrs. Dye did a great job as superintendent and I can only hope to continue what she, and all the other superintendents, started,” Holley said. “I’d like to bring all of our schools up to par for construction, and in light of the state mandating new diplomas for the high school level, I’d like to improve our curriculum. I want all of the county schools to be a leader for the state in test scores and to do the best possible job I can for students.”

Holley said it wasn’t his ultimate goal to become a superintendent.

“I’ve always used the analogy that when you’re an assistant coach, you’d like someday to be a head coach,” he said. “In education, if you’re a teacher, someday you might like to be superintendent. All that matters is that you’re happy doing what you love.”

While Holley has been eligible to retire from education “for many years,” he said he plans to continue his career “as long as I’m contributing to education in a positive manner.”

Holley, a Florala resident, and his wife, Joyce, have been married for 30 years. They have three children, Alisha Odom, a librarian at WSH; Amber Amis, a property appraiser, and Issac “Ike” Holley, in the U.S. Air Force, a fire fighter stationed in Charleston, S.C.; two “great” sons-in-law and two grandchildren, 6-year-old Aiden Amis and Ellie Odom, 19-months.