In Memoriam: NJG Remembers Dr. J.O. Simpson, An Educator Extraordinaire

By Brenda H. Andrews
Publisher
New Journal and Guide

NORFOLK

I met Dr. John O. Simpson shortly after his arrival in Norfolk in 1998 to assume the position of Superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools. He came alone, unannounced, to my office, then located on Campostella Road, to introduce himself and to ask for my support in accomplishing the task that lay before him.

Dr. Simpson passed recently at age 74, and was eulogized at Norview High School on June 1, having spent some years in ill health. Yet, the legacy of public school education excellence he brought to the nation and to Norfolk Public Schools is unmatched and remains to inspire and encourage us to know how important each of us is to the future of our children.

Dr. Simpson was 48-years-old when he became the second African-American chosen to lead the Norfolk Public Schools. He came here from Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was leading that city’s schools before his relocation.  According to a story written at the time by NJG Chief Reporter Leonard Colvin, Dr. Simpson won over the Norfolk School Board unanimously because the members found attractive his compelling experience and success in large, urban mostly Black school districts which were plagued with problems in low test scores and poor retention rates.

He brought his experience also having served in administrative positions as principal of an elementary school and assistant head of a junior high school in Washington, D.C., which Mr. Colvin described in his story was “deemed one of the most dysfunctional school districts in the nation.”

Dr. Simpson had won over the Tidewater Metro Ministers Association and the Norfolk NAACP during his appearance before public hearings that Norfolk held on the selection of the city’s next Superintendent.

Mr. Colvin quotes the late Rev. L.P. Watson, NAACP President, who concluded, “If they give him the independence and the resources to implement programs to help all of our children, I think he will be effective.”

And, over the next seven years of his tenure as Norfolk’s Top Educator, Dr. Simpson was most effective.

In a 2006 House Joint Resolution commending Dr., Simpson, the Virginia Delegates in The General Assembly wrote

“WHEREAS, since his appointment as superintendent in 1998, John Simpson has spearheaded a district-wide administrative reorganization and implemented a highly successful accountability system in order to provide equitable education to all of Norfolk’s students.”

They lauded him “an energetic and innovative leader” who  “has worked diligently to foster the belief that all children can achieve their full academic potential regardless of the challenges they face;” and, “because of John Simpson’s visionary leadership, the achievement gap between minority and majority students in Norfolk Public Schools has decreased considerably, and the schools are making great progress toward the goal of full accreditation under the Virginia Standards of Learning.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Simpson, Norfolk Public Schools was named among the top five finalists in 2003 and 2004 for the Broad Foundation’s Broad Prize for Urban Education award, the “Nobel Prize” of education.

The awards presented to Dr. Simpson were numerous and diverse; but one thing they all had in common was extremely high regard for the energy he expended in making the education of Norfolk’s young people his primary concern.Dr. John O. Simpson, 74 of Chesapeake, VA. passed away on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 and was eulogized on June 1. Those remaining to cherish his memory are his wife of 47 years, Rita Dailey Simpson; son, John Michael Simpson; his brother, William J. Simpson (Sandra); a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and many colleagues, and friends.

He graduated from his hometown Chester Public Schools and received his higher education from West Chester State University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Michigan.

As an aside, from the day in 1998 when Dr. Simpson walked unannounced and uninvited into my office of the New Journal and Guide, he maintained a subscription to the city’s historical voice of the Black community, this newspaper, the New Journal and Guide. i checked before I began this article, and sure enough, he just renewed for two years earlier this year. Twenty-six years of giving support to the Norfolk community he served through the newspaper that records its Black history.