Dr. Christopher Barnes Named Next OCS Superintendent
The Onslow County Board of Education is pleased to announce Dr. Christopher M. Barnes as the next superintendent of the Onslow County Schools (OCS). Dr. Barnes will take office on March 1, 2025.
During the search process, the board carefully reviewed applications from an outstanding field of candidates. After obtaining community input, thoroughly evaluating the applications, and conducting interviews with potential applicants, the board determined that Dr. Barnes’ extensive experience, leadership skills, and commitment to students make him the top choice for serving OCS students, staff, and the community for years to come. The Board is confident that Dr. Barnes will lead the school system toward even greater accomplishments.
Dr. Barnes’ career path showcases a deep commitment to education and Onslow County, with a trajectory that has given him a wide range of experience across all grade levels from the classroom to district-level leadership. Beginning in June 1993, while a Teaching Fellow and science education major at North Carolina State University, Dr. Barnes began his work history with OCS. Returning home from college each summer, he worked as a part-time employee providing entry-level support and clerical assistance in multiple departments including maintenance, finance, print services, personnel, and the testing office. After graduating as a Valedictorian from NCSU, he began his classroom experience teaching science at his alma mater, Richlands High School. From RHS, he moved into district-level administration, through administrative internships at Dixon Middle School and Southwest Elementary School, and he served for a brief time as interim principal at Richlands Primary School and Northwoods Elementary School.
Dr. Barnes served as the assistant principal at Northside High School from 2003 – 2006 after completing a master’s degree and the Principal Fellows Program at East Carolina University. Following a brief placement as assistant principal at Northwoods Park Middle School during summer 2006, Dr. Barnes was named principal at Morton Elementary School. In 2010, while completing a doctorate at ECU, he became the principal of New Bridge Middle School, the district’s only magnet middle school. His final school-level administrative position was as principal of White Oak High School from 2016-2021. He was recognized as the OCS Principal of the Year in 2015 and 2021, and he was selected as the Wells Fargo Principal of the Year for North Carolina’s Southeast Region in 2021.
In fall 2021, he served as an Executive Director with Instructional Services. Since 2023, he has been the district’s Chief Academic Officer, with an office which is in what was a warehouse that he first worked out of in 1993.
Dr. Barnes has an impressive academic and professional background, as well, including a Bachelor of Science in Science Education-Biology/Genetics from North Carolina State University. He also holds a Masters of Supervision and Administration and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, both from East Carolina University. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, North Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the North Carolina Principal and Assistant Principals’ Association.
Dr. Barnes looks forward to the opportunity to lead OCS and to continue to be an active member of the community, a place he, his wife Julie, their four daughters and their one son-in-law are proud to call home. Dr. Barnes has issued the following statement about the position:
"I am incredibly honored and humbled to have been selected by the school board to serve as the next Superintendent of Onslow County Schools. OCS is one of the most dynamic districts in North Carolina, and I am excited to work alongside our talented educators, staff, parents, the board, and community members. Together we can build on the system’s many successes and address whatever challenges that may come. This community values our local public schools. We must continue to work together to ensure that our schools and our teachers have the resources and support needed to provide a high-quality education for Every Student, in Every Classroom, Every Day."
Please join the Board in congratulating Dr. Christopher Barnes as the new superintendent of the Onslow County Schools.