Jeffery Smith, who will retire at the end of the monthas Hampton City Schools superintendent, was selected as the next executive director of the Virginia Air & Space Science Center, according to a news release.
Judith Lowery / Daily Press
Outgoing Hampton Public Schools Superintendent Jeffery Smith.
The center’s Board President L’Allegro Smith made the announcement during a community event Thursday afternoon. Smith will assume his new post July 1.
The superintendent retired after an eight-year tenure with Hampton schools, during which he was named Virginia Superintendent of the Year in 2020. Under his leadership, the Hampton system saw all schools become fully accredited, and the division’s on-time graduation rate increased from 88% to 97.64%.
“Dr. Smith brings a wealth of experience to this role,” said L’Allegro Smith. “We provide hands-on STEM experiences that make learning fun and relevant – the perfect combination. Dr. Smith has invigorated a love of learning in Hampton students, and now he can spark that excitement morebroadly among all our visitors.”
“As the site of the nation’s first Air Force Base and first NASA research center, Hampton has a special connection to advances in flight and space discoveries,” Smith said in the release. “The opportunities here are endless.”
The 31-year-old center is the official visitors center for NASA Langley Research Center and features interactive aviation exhibits spanning 100 years of flight, more than 30 historic aircraft, a hands-on space exploration gallery and unique space flight artifacts. It is also home to the Apollo12 Command Module and the Orion PA-1 Test Vehicle.
Nour Habib, [email protected]
