Brian Burnight

Background

About Brian Burnight

Most recently, Dr. Burnight accepted the position of Superintendent of Charles City Community School District and will begin the new role on June 3rd. Previously he served as the Director of Elementary Education in Sioux City from 2012-2023. His transformative leadership resulted in significant improvements in math and reading scores. His influence extended to the educational journey of preschool through fifth-grade students, positively impacting the lives of approximately students daily. Dr. Burnight holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and a Specialist in Education degree from the University of South Dakota, a Master of Education Technology from Azusa Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Science from South Dakota State University. As the Director of Elementary Education, Dr. Burnight supervised 20 administrators, participated in negotiations, administered ten million dollars annually in Title I and Preschool funds, oversaw the construction of seven new elementary schools, and led the creation of 8 specialty schools with specialties ranging from STEM, Arts Plus, Computer Coding, Environmental Science, Dual Language, and International Baccalaureate Candidate Schools. His leadership gave students, parents, and guardians choices in public education. Dr. Burnight also fostered a robust partnership with the Iowa Reading Research Center, which collaborated with the district to provide training in reading, transforming instruction and learning in the classroom. Reading practices now focus on giving students differentiated small group skills-based reading instruction daily as part of a uniform literacy block across fourteen elementary schools. Under his directions, all schools adopted a common mathematical preview review strategy and enhanced math fact fluency curriculum. Before his work in Sioux City, Dr. Burnight was a principal at Timber Point Elementary School for seven years, where the state of California recognized his school with a Distinguished Elementary School award for growth in academic achievement of over 8% in math and reading. In addition, the Association of California School Administrators acknowledged his outstanding contributions and named him the Region 6 Elementary Administrator of the Year. He also served as an Assistant Principal at Loess Ceros Middle School, receiving multiple prestigious awards, including the California Distinguished School and a Golden Bell Award.