Johnny Cleveland has always had an interest in public education and has spent most of his life working in that field. He's now pursuing one of his lifelong dreams, as Cleveland decided last year to seek election to become Franklin County’s superintendent of education.
This will be Cleveland’s first time running for office, and he will face Donald Borden in the March 1 Democratic primaries.
Cleveland and his wife Martha have one son who is currently working as a network technician in the Florence City School System. Along with having his master’s degree in education, Cleveland will also receive his doctorate degree in education in the coming year.
Cleveland is a lifelong Franklin County resident and has taught in Franklin County for 23 years. During his tenure, he has taught subjects ranging from science to math to social studies, as well as being over the yearbook staff at Red Bay. In addition to teaching, Cleveland also started and coached the Red Bay girl’s golf team before becoming Red Bay Elementary School principal.
One of the things that prompted Cleveland to decide to run is his passion for helping students succeed.
“I am truly dedicated to seeing that the students in our county have the tools and means to succeed,” Cleveland said. “The students of Franklin County have an incredible amount of potential, and they need someone who is willing to dedicate their time to helping them reach their full potential. If elected, I will do everything in my power to achieve that goal.”
Cleveland says that one of the main points of his campaign will be adding more technology courses to the school’s curriculum.
“It’s incredibly difficult to find a good-paying job today if people don’t understand how to use a keyboard and computer,” Cleveland said. “I believe that if we were to offer more technology classes such as keyboarding classes or computer programming classes, our kids would really benefit. Not only could we offer these courses in regular classes, but we could also offer them through career tech as well.”
One of the other key focus points of Cleveland’s campaign will be emphasizing the importance of school security and student safety.
“We can’t expect our students to learn if they don't feel like they're in a safe environment,” Cleveland said. “Whether we need to input school resource officers, metal detectors or whatever, we need to implement some kind of security measures so that our kids can learn safely. I know that the budget is going to be tight, but we can find a way to make it work, and we need to find a way to make it work.”
Cleveland also believes that one of the keys to success for the county schools is for all of the schools to come together.
“If our schools wish to be successful, they are going to have to learn to come together,” Cleveland said. “We have to help each other in a time of need, regardless of rivalries with fellow county schools, and that is going to be one of the first things I do--try and unify our schools and get them to go after one common goal, preparing our students for the future.”
Cleveland also hopes that the parents of students in Franklin County will rally together and try to make sure that the students learn valuable life lessons along the way.
“I believe that our schools need parents who are willing to get involved and are just as dedicated as I am to maximizing our schools' full potential,” Cleveland said. “I also believe that our schools need parents who are willing to work together to teach our children trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring and good citizenship.
"In order for our students to become the successful men and women we wish for them to be, it is our duty as teachers, parents and guardians to lead them on the right path, and I humbly ask for the people's votes and support during the Franklin County Democratic primary in March."
