Millwood Public Schools Extends Supt. Dr. Cecilia Robinson-Woods Contract Through 2029

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Millwood Public Schools Board of Education voted on Monday, Jan. 12 to renew Superintendent Dr. Cecilia Robinson-Woods’ three-year contract through to June 2029.
“We are excited – Dr. Robinson-Woods is doing great things, along with the principals and teachers here at Millwood, and she deserves it,” Board President L. Regina Richardson told The Black Chronicle.
“I’m grateful,” said Robinson-Woods, “and I’m grateful because it provides the opportunity for the work that I’ve been doing in Millwood for 13 years to continue going into the next phase of Millwood Public Schools.”
Richardson noted that when Robinson-Woods first came to the district, several district schools were included on the state’s at-risk list, given an “F” rating – but today, none of the district’s schools are on the at-risk list. The high school was removed from the state’s at-risk list last year, and this year the last of Millwood’s schools left on the list, an elementary school, was also removed.
“Years of work in the same direction, kind of chipping away at progress, if you will, trying to establish a level of continuity and high expectations for students and staff so that we can just continue to improve,” Robinson-Woods said regarding the district’s recent accomplishments.
“I am excited about where we are,” Robinson-Woods said. “As a leader, as a person who loves my community and loves what we do, I recognize that we worked hard to get where we are, but I’m not necessarily satisfied. I know we can do more and we can do better, and so I just work hard every day to try to demonstrate to the world that we’ve got the best and brightest at Millwood, and try to support our teachers and staff and administrators in spreading the word, and do the hard work to raise the support and money to allow them to do the best they can in their positions.”
Robinson-Woods said she is focused on increasing the open flow of communication between the school, its staff, the students and families, and the community as a whole.
“If a family has a question, they ought to be able to have their questions answered,” Robinson-Woods said, whether by email or using social media or attending board meetings. “I think the more people are informed about what we do the easier it makes our jobs… and vice versa – people are bringing us their concerns so that we can address them directly. I think that partnership, between the parents and students and the community and school district, is what gives us the fuel to keep going.”
Richardson said she is always encouraging members of community to attend board meetings, which take place on the first Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Commons Area of Millwood High School, 6718 Martin Luther King Avenue in Oklahoma City.
“I tell people all the time in the community, ‘You need to come to board meetings,’ because every month we get a report,” Richardson continued. Progress has been “good, it is steady, and it is progressive,” Richardson said.
“We’re making progress and we’ve got to look forward, we’ve got to keep Superintendent at the reins and drive on,” Richardson continued. “We’re excited about the future of Millwood. We’ve got some other things in the works which we are getting ready to share with the community.”
The five-member board voted 4-1 to extend Robinson-Woods’ contract, with Seat 3 member Rickey T.L. Hunt, Sr. casting the lone “no” vote, while Board President Richardson, Vice President LaToya S. High, Seat 4’s Christopher J. Harrison and Seat 5’s Andre Coleman voted in favor of extending Robinson-Woods’ contract.
Hunt did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him before press time.
Members of the community overwhelming responded positively on social media to the news of Robinson-Woods’ contract extension, flooding the post with congratulations for the superintendent and support of her continued work with the district.
One person who posted under the name William Calvin went even further, sharing an incident he experienced as a long-term substitute for the district under Robinson-Woods’ leadership.
“This lady deserves that and more,” reads Calvin’s post. “There was a program that I did with the choir for Veterans Day and one of the boys did not have the right shoes, and I told him you won’t be singing today in this program because you have been told the correct attire, and he went to Dr. Woods and she went in her pocket and took him to the shoe store and came back with a brand new pair of shoes. I will never ever forget that. I was so appreciative of her and what she does for kids and the program.”