Newton County School District

About the Superintendent
Samantha M. Fuhrey, Ed.S.

Samantha Fuhrey is currently serving her tenth year as Superintendent of the Newton County School System. She is the first woman to hold the title of superintendent since the inception of the school system over 150 years ago. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Mrs. Fuhrey was named one of four finalists for Superintendent of the Year for the state of Georgia. In 2020, she was named Georgia’s Superintendent of the Year and one of four national finalists for National Superintendent of the Year. In 2023, Superintendent Fuhrey received the Outstanding Citizen Award presented by State Representative Sharon Henderson. She was also recognized by Georgia College and State University as the 2021 Alumnus of the Year for the College of Education and was recently recognized by Congressman Hank Johnson with the Fourth Congressional District of Georgia Trailblazer Award. She is also the recipient of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders 2021 Vision Award. Superintendent Fuhrey was recognized by the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education when she was awarded the Johnnye V. Cox Award in June, 2020. Marywood University, where Mrs. Fuhrey earned her undergraduate degree, recognized her with the Distinguished Alumni Award in June 2019. Additionally, Mrs. Fuhrey’s exceptional leadership abilities were recognized by the Georgia School Superintendents Association when she was awarded the President’s Award in 2016.

Having extensive experience at the executive level, Mrs. Fuhrey previously served as the Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the Executive Director for Secondary Education, the Director of Secondary Education, and the Director of Professional Learning for the Newton County School System. Mrs. Fuhrey also served as the principal of Indian Creek Middle School in Newton County after having been promoted from the assistant principal position. Prior to her employment with the Newton County School System, Mrs. Fuhrey worked with the DeKalb County School System as an assistant principal and English teacher.

Mrs. Fuhrey earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Marywood University and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the State University of West Georgia. She added an Education Specialist’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Georgia College and State University.

Serving on education and community boards is important to Mrs. Fuhrey. As such, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Georgia School Superintendents Association; Georgia Piedmont Technical College; the Newton County Chamber of Commerce; the Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale Board of Health; the Arts Association in Newton County; Newton County Tomorrow; NAACP; the Newton County Library System, and Griffin RESA where she is currently serving as Board Chair. Mrs. Fuhrey serves as a member of the Superintendent's Advisory Council for the Executive Director of the Georgia School Boards Association, the Georgia School Boards Association Rural Community Task Force, the Georgia Education Coalition, and she is also a chartering member of Ford Next Generation Learning Communities’ Superintendent’s Council. She has served on the State School Superintendent's Innovative Assessment Pilot Task Force.

Mrs. Fuhrey is a certified poverty coach and has served as a Leadership Preparation Performance Coach. She has also completed the Georgia School Superintendents Association’s Executive Leadership Program and is trained to serve as a coach to newly appointed superintendents. She has led many presentations throughout the state and across the country including the utilization of cameras in the classroom to impact student achievement and eradicating poverty using a community approach. She has presented at the Georgia Association for Educational Leaders conference, the Georgia School Boards Association conference, the Georgia Association of Curriculum and Instructional Supervisors, the Georgia School Superintendent's Association, the WestEd conference, the Alabama Association of School Boards conference, the International Reading Conference and the National Council of Teachers of English conference. Mrs. Fuhrey has conducted workshops on Leadership Development, Teacher Leadership, Poverty Awareness, and School Safety. She has volunteered for many organizations including the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Covington Relay for Life, and Newton County Literacy Volunteers.

When not at work, Mrs. Fuhrey enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter.