He got his start in the prison system, and now he's about lead one of Central Georgia's largest school systems.
The Houston County Board of Education picked Mark Scott to replace Robins Hines, who will retire June 1.
Scott says his work as a corrections officer in a Milledgeville prison lead him into the education field.
He said, "I have a big heart. I feel like people make mistakes, and I really felt like I could make an impact. I found they were like most people. If you treat them with respect, they'll give you respect. If you honestly and genuinely care about their education and outcome, they'll be responsive to that. I was successful with it. "
That starting corrections job paid Scott $12,000 a year.
He went on to teach heating and air conditioning repair classes in a vocational school.
In 1997, after lay-offs at the prison system, Scott went to work with the Baldwin County School System. Eventually, he moved into administration.
Scott came to Houston County as the principal of Northside High School in 2008. He worked there for three years, before moving to the Board of Education, as assistant superintendent of human resources.
47-year-old Scott says the job as a corrections officer played a major a role in the development of his career.
He says he has spent the past 29 years trying to reach kids, before they get in trouble.
Scott said, "Education is a great equalizer. It can help kids not matter what their background is, what their economic status is. Education can help them."
He says experiences at the prison, many of them stressful, molded him into a level-headed leader. Scott says "nothing surprises him," and he doesn't panic under pressure.
He said, "I try to be very analytical and look at things. ... I can make a decision, but it means you make fewer mistakes, if you have all the information, if you can really look at. ... If you can look at the ripple affects of a decision, you can predict those things ahead of time. It may shape the way you make a decision."
Scott's wife, Tina, is a book keeper at Northside Middle School. His 20-year-old son, Langdon, attends Northside High School. He is a special needs students with autism.
Scott says his son has taught him that every child learns differently, and that "one size does not fit all."
When he starts the job June 1, he says he wants to bring on more teachers. The system already planned to hire 175 teachers for next school year, but he wants to get an additional 30 positions funded.
Scott said, "We will just have to work through that budget process. That would be a little premature now to say that, but we would propose that as part of our budget proposal. When you grow 300 students, you have to add those kinds of numbers."
Houston County currently has more than 2,000 certified teachers for about 28,000 students.
Scott says he plans to put an emphasis on getting more children into Pre-K programs.
He says right now they only have space to serve about half of the eligible students.
Scott said, "We know the early years are the most important. Getting the message out to those families, about how important early learning is and really getting participation for the slots we have, making sure they are full, really just continuing to have kids prepared when they get to the first and second grades. The later we wait to have that intervention, the more difficult the job is."
Scott says while he is superintendent, the system plans to build a new stadium to alleviate the overuse of McConnell-Talbert Stadium. It's currently used by three high schools. Tax payers designated money for the project in a SPLOST.
He said building a new central bus facility and getting new software to manage the financial system, will also be major capitol improvement projects.
Scott signed a three-year contract that pays $187,000 annually.
