billy k. Cannaday - Biography
Superintendent's Message Biography On The Road
Dr.
Billy K. Cannaday Jr. - Superintendent of Public Instruction
Billy K. Cannaday, Jr., was appointed to a four-year term as superintendent of public instruction by Governor Timothy M. Kaine on April 12, 2006. As superintendent, Dr. Cannaday serves as the executive officer of the Virginia Department of Education, which is the administrative agency for the commonwealth’s public schools. He also serves as secretary of the Board of Education. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Cannaday served as superintendent in two of the commonwealth’s largest school divisions.
Dr. Cannaday served from 2000 to 2006 as superintendent of Chesterfield County Public Schools, the fourth-largest school division in Virginia. During his tenure in Chesterfield County, Dr. Cannaday was named Virginia’s 2005 Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Cannaday was superintendent of Hampton Public Schools, which is the third-largest urban school division in Virginia. Prior to his selection as division superintendent, he served from 1986 to 1994 as Hampton’s director of secondary education and assistant superintendent for instruction. Dr. Cannaday was principal of Huntington Middle School in Newport News when the school was awarded a Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in 1984 by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Cannaday also has served on many boards and committees, including the College of William & Mary Gifted Advisory Board, the Greater Richmond Community Foundation Board of Directors, and the University of Virginia Teacher Education Advisory Committee. From 2004-2005, he served as the Distinguished Leader in Residence at the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership, and from 1999-2000, he served on the State Standard Setting Advisory Committee for the Virginia Standards of Learning.
In addition to his recognition as the 2005 Virginia Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Cannaday has been honored twice as a regional superintendent of the year and was named as the 2000 William & Mary Professional Educator of the Year. Dr. Cannaday is a native of Roanoke. He received his doctorate in Educational Administration (1990) from Virginia Tech, his master's degree in Educational Administration from Hampton University in 1980, and his bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education from Virginia Tech in 1972.
Superintendent's Message Biography On The Road