By Mary Jekielek Insprucker

Doctor Ann T. Denlinger, superintendent of Durham Public Schools in North Carolina since March 1997, is retiring this month. However, it will be a mini retirement because come July she will get right back on the horse in what she calls part-time retirement, acting as a senior associate at the Schlechty Center for Leadership and School Reform, based in Kentucky. “Doctor Phil Schlechty began the center as a way to lead and promote school reform in public schools in the country,” said the 62-year-old. “I will be working with school boards, superintendents, and principals across the country helping to transform school districts and schools into learning organizations.”

Ann Denlinger

Denlinger embraces the choices that retirement brings. “I was a little scared about retiring, but I know it’s the right thing to do and I’m glad I’m doing it,” she said. “I was on the fast track of working non-stop for 40 years, so I had to figure out what to do and keep my mind busy.”

Busy is exactly what Denlinger will be working at the Center and overseeing the building of her new home in Raleigh. She may also write a book on leadership and organizational development. Additionally, she will be volunteering for the American Cancer Society. “I have a personal interest in it. When I was 29, I had cancer. I am very fortunate not to have had a reoccurrence so I would like to work with this group in some capacity as a volunteer,” said Denlinger, who will also continue with United Way, and the Chamber.

Denlinger was the first superintendent to receive the prestigious Durham Chamber of Commerce Civic Honor Award. “I consider it an honor that they feel I contributed to the betterment of the city,” she said.

Another recognition Denlinger is extremely proud of arrived in 1999. The North Carolina Association of School Administrators selected her as the 2000 Superintendent of the Year for her leadership over a school system of 31,000 students, 4,500 employees, and a $307 million budget. “It was an honor to be chosen by peers because they understand the challenges of the work well.”

That work included increasing student achievement in the district. During her reign, students posted the highest gains in the system’s history on end-of-grade and end-of-course test scores. Yet, that was not the greatest challenge Denlinger faced. “My greatest challenge was not to allow political and personal agendas of some in the city to take my attention and energy away from my work that needed to be done,” said Denlinger. The educator often took a lot of heat for taking such a stance. “Some said ‘she doesn’t care what we think; she’s arrogant and not interested in us.’ To some extent that was true because I was interested in students. I didn’t want to spend time calming political waters. I wanted to spend time taking care of students.”  

Something neat along her career path was when Denlinger acted as principal for two years at Fuquay Varina Middle School, which was the same school she attended as a child. “That was a lot of fun, but very strange,” said Denlinger, who was born in Waynesville, NC but grew up in Fuquay. “Here I am the principal when a lot of the teachers I had as a student were still there. A strange observation I had was the lockers were a lot smaller than I thought they were as a student. It’s funny what you think of.”

Where did she think she would be at 50? “Absolutely not here,” she said. “I’m sorry to say that when I was young I had no visions about the future because I grew up in the 50’s when not many women were professionals.”

Although it will involve work, Denlinger’s retirement years should still be golden. “When I think about retirement it’s like thinking about a cloudy day when the sun comes out through the clouds. It’s like, wow, there’s a whole other world out there,” said Denlinger. “There is a menu of all kinds of things. You just have to match your instincts and talents with all that’s out there. It’s really not about going home and sitting down and the end. It’s the beginning of a whole new phase of life. This time I get to define it because it’s not about supporting my family anymore or about buying that first home anymore. It’s truly wonderful.”