A dream scenario has fallen into place for longtime Carroll County educator David Gilmore.

Principal and federal programs coordinator at Eureka Springs High School for the past seven years after a 16-year stint in the Berryville School District, Gilmore recently accepted the superintendent position in Green Forest. Gilmore will officially replace departing Green Forest superintendent Matt Summers on July 1.

“Just being a local guy like I am because I’ve lived in this area a long time, worked 23 years between Berryville and Eureka, I just have worked in the county for so long and know a lot of people and have a lot of good, lasting relationships,” Gilmore said. “Thankfully, I was able to get in this position and start a new endeavor here in Carroll County.

“I’m so very excited about that.” Gilmore said he has been applying for various superintendent roles around the state in recent years, so it was an easy decision to put his name in the hat for the Green Forest role after learning Summers was retiring from Arkansas and taking a superintendent position in Missouri.

Gilmore said he was one of “close to 20 applicants” for the position and when the pool was narrowed down he was chosen for an interview.

“I was very honored just to get a chance to get in the door and get an interview,” he said. “Things went really well. I had a really good rapport with the school board and a really good interview.”

The board voted to offer the position to Gilmore at a special meeting held Tuesday, April 23, he added.

“I actually have been applying for some superintendent jobs around different areas of the state so it is great to have one pop up in my backyard,” Gilmore said. “I was so blessed. I feel like this was just the door that God opened for me to allow me to stay in the area and help serve this county and these students over here.

“I feel very fortunate that this happened for me, right here in Carroll County. I have always had a lot of respect for all three Carroll County districts and all the schools in this region. It’s a lot of good people working hard to help students and I am just proud to be a part of one of those again at this level because I have been trying to be a superintendent for a little while now.”

Gilmore, who moved to Carroll County when he was 13 from the Dallas area, is a graduate of Eureka Springs High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from College of the Ozarks in Branson. He was a teacher, bus driver, elementary, middle school and high school principal in Berryville before taking his current position in Eureka Springs.

“I’m very blessed to get a chance to work in all three county schools now, and it will be neat to to go to Green Forest and hopefully finish up my career there,” he said.

Gilmore is more than ready for the Green Forest position, according to his current boss, Bryan Pruitt, superintendent in Eureka Springs.

“We hate to lose Mr. Gilmore but we don’t want to hold someone back for a chance for growth and a great opportunity,” Pruitt said. “He’s ready to be a superintendent and I think the Green Forest board made a great decision. He’s a local guy and he knows their district and culture.

“He’s well-rounded and understands education and is just ready for that next step. He was waiting for someone to give him a chance and fortunately the Green Forest board did that for him and I think it will be a great fit for him, the district and the community.”

In his tenure at Eureka Springs, the high school has garnered many academic accolades including earning frequent “A” letter grades from the state department of education. Just last week, ESHS was once again named to the list of top 10 public schools in the state by U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings.

“We’re an ‘A’ school and those are some great sellable things for him and great credentials that he has in his tool belt that he can bring with him,” Pruitt said. “His school is structured very well, academic centered, career tech, always trying to be on the cutting edge looking for new career tech opportunities, new technologies.”

Gilmore sent an email to all staff in Green Forest on Thursday, April 25, introducing himself.

“I wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to have the opportunity to serve the Green Forest School District as your next superintendent,” Gilmore wrote in his message. “Dr. Summers has obviously done a great job for the district over his time there and put in a lot of great foundations to continue to build on. It is rare to have a superintendent stay in one spot so long and have such a lasting effect. I hope to be able to do the same for the district.”

The email went on to give some information on Gilmore’s background and concluded: “I will give it my best daily to support each of you and make sure you have what is necessary to do your job effectively. We will work together to continue to make the Green Forest School District the best it possibly can be for the students, staff, and community! I’m extremely excited to take this role on July 1st and meet each of you!”

Gilmore said he plans to go to Green Forest in the “next few weeks” and start getting oriented with the district.

“I do plan to go over there and start to kind of get my foot in the door learning things about the district and going over all the financials with [Summers],” he said. “There’s even some hires to make, right off the bat, including we have to hire a middle school principal and I want to be a part of that process. We want to just make sure we’re getting as much ready as we can for next year to get off to a good start.”

Summers, Pruitt and Berryville superintendent Owen Powell communicate regularly and frequently work together on ways to help students in the county, something that will continue with Gilmore making the change.

“This maintains the partnership we have in the county with the three districts,” Pruitt said. “We work together. Owen, Matt and I talk regularly about what’s best for the students in Carroll County, not just Eureka, Green Forest and Berryville. David is a great fit for that because he’s already been involved in that and has a lot of insight on that.”

Gilmore agreed. “We want to share success with all the county schools,” he said. “We want to make sure that all districts are doing well. We have a great county to live in and great schools to support the kids. Dr. Summers and that staff have been doing a great job and I hope to use any strategies I’ve picked up along the way or in research that I’ve studied with, anything that would would help with graduation rates, increasing test scores … Dr. Summers has done a fantastic job in his time there building a foundation that hopefully I can continue to work with and build on.

“I know a lot of the teachers and staff over at Green Forest and have worked with many of them during my time in Carroll County schools. They are a great bunch and I’m excited to work with them.”

REPLACING GILMORE

Pruitt said the Eureka Springs district is accepting applications for a new high school principal and should continue accepting submissions through the end of this week.

“People can go to our website and apply,” Pruitt said. “[Next week] we will probably select who we are going to interview.”