Allison Clark will serve as the Arlington Community Schools (ACS) superintendent for the remainder of this school year after a Board of Education vote on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The board unanimously approved a new contract for Clark with her temporary status as superintendent rolling off automatically at the end of this month.

Clark’s official term as superintendent begins Oct. 1, with her contract running through June of next year, at which time the ACS board will reassess her contract.

Arlington Schools mourn Mayo, board presses forward with district business

Clark assumed the role of temporary superintendent on Aug. 14 after Jeff Mayo was forced to step away due to a cancer diagnosis. Mayo died on Aug. 26.

“It’s unfortunate circumstances, not the one that I would choose, but I feel very honored that the board feels confident in my ability to lead this district,” Clark said after Tuesday’s meeting.

Clark was ACS chief of human resources for four years before moving into the superintendent role. The decade before then she was principal of Arlington Middle School.

“I love her commitment to ACS. She’s been here. She knows the district in and out,” ACS board Chairman Scott Benjamin said.

Following Mayo’s death, Clark has worked closely with the school board members, central office staff and school administrators to ensure stability for employees and families.

Former Arlington Community Schools superintendent dies after battling cancer

“When this unfortunate time of events came, she became the absolute logical decision...for us because she’s prepared for it. She’s been preparing basically her entire career to do something like this,” Benjamin said.

Before her time at Arlington Middle in 2010, Clark was a mathematics supervisor for Shelby County Schools, a vice principal at Millington High, and math teacher and assistant principal at Bolton High.

She has also participated in the National AASA’s Aspiring Superintendents Academy and is a 2024 Tennessee Supervisor of the Year fnalist.

“This district has done so much for my own child academically as well as extracurricular,” said Clark, whose son is a senior at Arlington High. “Now, I see it as opportunity that I can give back. I want that same opportunity for all of the students and families in our district.”

She must keep the temporary tag until the end of this month due to a state law involving election of new school board members and a 60-day window from the date of the election in which a temporary superintendent can be hired. Some of the current board was elected in early August.

After 20 years, Arlington High has been instrumental in shaping its town

Benjamin says because of the way the circumstances played out with the elections and the state law, the ACS board was able to get a 30-day snapshot seeing Clark in the superintendent role.

“Seeing her work over the past 30 days has just been fantastic and really remarkable,” he said. “She made it a pretty easy decision for us to choose her.”