Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 21, 2025 — Family members, friends, and colleagues gathered Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the accomplishments of outgoing Jonesboro Public Schools superintendent Dr. Kim Wilbanks.
Those in attendance wrote thank-you letters to Wilbanks, which were put in a glass jar. Wilbanks announced her retirement in November 2024.
“Excited” is one of the many adjectives Wilbanks used when describing her feelings about retirement, saying she’s excited to have more flexibility in her life. However, she also described the moment as “bittersweet.”
“I still really love my job and love what I do, but I also know it’s just time. It’s the right time for someone else to be at the helm in the district,” she said.
In an interview with JRN, Wilbanks said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher because of her mother and father’s involvement in education. She added she never had the vision to be in an administrative role and went to college with the full intention of being a teacher.
Wilbanks started teaching kindergarten, which lasted for eight years, during which she went back to college to get her doctorate. After debating on working at a higher education level, Wilbanks ultimately stuck with public education as she fell in love with the work.
After spending 21 years with the Nettleton School District, Wilbanks said an opportunity came up for her to be an assistant superintendent for JPS. One year into the job, she got some news.
“The current superintendent made his intentions known that he wanted to retire at the end of the year, and so I had to make a decision if I wanted to remain in that assistant role or move into the superintendent’s role,” she said.
Ultimately, Wilbanks accepted the role, as she said she loved the work of helping teachers in classrooms be successful at their jobs.
“I had to think about, ‘Will I still impact people? Will I still have the same satisfaction in my work?’ And what turned out to be that, and I didn’t have any idea when I started, was the best job I ever had,” she said.
The first major change made during Wilbanks’ tenure was converting Jonesboro’s elementary schools from traditional schools to magnet schools, allowing parents to choose where their students went. She said it brought some excitement and enthusiasm to the district.
Another major change was converting Jonesboro High School from a traditional high school to a Career Academy school, allowing for parents and students to be able to choose based on their interests and have unique courses.
According to Wilbanks, one of the biggest challenges during her tenure at JPS is walking through everybody’s life challenges and how those impact their work.
“The struggle of balancing what’s best for the students and what’s best for your employee who may be facing an illness or some other type of situation, those were where a superintendent sees the employees as their family and sees the students as their family,” she said.
When asked if there was anything she could have done differently in her career, Wilbanks said she would have loved to be more patient, adding she “probably pushed too hard early in my career.”
“It’s hard for me to be a leader and not be looking at what’s next, but I’d say to new administrators, you’ve got to make sure your people are with you, even though you’re always looking at new and innovative approaches. You’ve got to make sure people can move as fast as you can,” she said.
Looking back, Wilbanks said the biggest strength that Jonesboro Public Schools has is its sense of community and urge to serve every student to the fullest, despite the obstacles in their way.
“Not every student in your glass is going to have a parent that’s going to be highly supportive. Some of your students are going to come from some challenging backgrounds, but that’s not going to change how intelligent they are, how smart they are, and what they deserve from you,” she said.
As for the future, Wilbanks said she plans to spend more time with her parents and grandchildren, as well as traveling with her husband. She added that as a lifelong resident of Jonesboro, she plans to stay involved in the community.
Wilbanks’ retirement will be effective June 30. After which, Misty Doyle will assume the role on July 1 after being selected in March.
Wilbanks said she has confidence in Doyle being in the role, having worked with her for 23 years.
“She has worked as my assistant superintendent for several years now, and I’m really proud to already see the way she’s taking on the leadership challenge and how she’s forming a vision for the future,” Wilbanks said. “My biggest advice for her is always be creating a vision, because everyone in your district is looking to you to where are we going next, and they really want a leader who’s guiding them and moving them in a positive direction.”