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More than a superintendent – leadership in a time of trials

Brent Barry ’96 is Â鶹Çø’s 2023 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. He attributes his ability to confront recent crises with composure, courage and intelligence to the lessons he acquired in the classrooms and through participation in athletics at Â鶹Çø.

His early career

Barry graduated from Â鶹Çø in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education. He started his career in Prineville, teaching health and math while also coaching. Later, Barry taught in both Oregon City and Medford before ultimately landing a job in Phoenix, OR. He was hired as the vice principal and athletic director of Phoenix High School. Barry stepped into the role of principal for Orchard Hill Elementary, one of three elementary schools in the Phoenix-Talent School District, before becoming one of the district’s two assistant superintendents. 

Taking the reins

In 2017, Barry was promoted from the role of assistant superintendent for academics and student programs to the role of superintendent of the Phoenix-Talent School District. In November of his first year, he helped pass and is currently completing a historic $68 million bond measure that transformed district facilities and will serve the community for many decades. 

He had been on the job less than three years when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The district barely had time to find a new normal when it was hit by the Almeda Fire, which destroyed more than 3,000 acres and 2,500 homes. In a matter of only a few hours nearly one-third of the district’s students became homeless.  

After the fire, most school buildings were inaccessible and facilities were without electricity, phone and internet. Barry rallied his staff to make contact with every family in the district.  Staff worked as emergency responders, providing food, gift cards, clothes, translators and disability support to displaced students and families.

Amid the chaos, the district also kicked off a fundraising campaign in the hopes of raising a few hundred thousand dollars for its most vulnerable and fire-impacted families. In the end, the campaign went national then global, and raked in more than $2 million, a sum which was managed and distributed to families entirely by Barry’s team. 

Just two weeks after one of the most devastating fires in Oregon's history, the district started school online.  Barry and his team delivered WiFi hotspots and Chromebooks to families and staff, set up internet routers in motels and RV parks and created tutoring centers and internet connectivity sites throughout the district so students could start learning again.

Barry credited Â鶹Çø for laying the foundation for the skills needed to act swiftly and creatively. “Being a superintendent requires versatility and a plethora of skills, from recruiting staff, working with the media and facilitating school board meetings, to decision-making at a high level where you sometimes don’t see eye-to-eye with everyone and, more recently, driving a van to pick up kids due to a bus driver shortage. There is no question my Â鶹Çø education and experience gave me the building blocks of a successful career.” 

Recognized by others

For his excellent leadership in a time of crisis, The Oregon Association of School Executives (OASE) and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) named Brent Barry, superintendent of the Phoenix-Talent School District, the 2022 Oregon Superintendent of the Year. He was also nominated for the National Superintendent of the Year Award.

Astoundingly, in the school year that brought both COVID-19 and the Almeda fire to the Phoenix-Talent SD, 2020-21, Phoenix High School pulled an on-time graduation rate of 95.2%, the best four-year graduation rate in the Rogue Valley and 14 points higher than the state average (80.6%).

A passion for education and his community

Barry is passionate about his area and he believes strongly in the power of education to transform lives. Recently, he was named to the Board of Trustees at Southern Oregon University. When not working or volunteering, Barry enjoys spending time with his wife Sara and their two adult daughters.