Dr. Jeff McDaris

Retired Superintendent, Transylvania County Schools

Jeff McDaris began his teaching career in 1983 after graduating from NC State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Arts Education. He taught and coached students in two other North Carolina systems before returning to Transylvania County in 1997. In Transylvania, he taught middle school students and coached on the high school level before becoming an administrator in 1998.

McDaris earned his Master’s Degree in Industrial Education from Western Carolina University in 1993, He is a graduate of the Principal’s Executive Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Western Carolina in 2005. He is a former Trustee for Blue Ridge Community College, and served on the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board for 17 years.

Jeff serves on the NC Superintendent’s Association’s Executive Board and is a member of the Board of Directors for the NC Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He is a 2011 recipient of the Peak Performer Award at Western Carolina University, and a 2017 recipient of the William and Ida Friday Award from The Friday Institute at NC State University for Innovation. He currently serves on regional and state committees for the MyFutureNC initiative, and on the Board for the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce. Dr. McDaris was the Co-Chair for the Remote Learning Task Force of the NC Superintendent’s Association.

A native of Transylvania County and a 1979 graduate of Brevard High School, McDaris was named Superintendent in 2009. He is a former NC CTE Director of the Year, a past President of the NC Association of School Administrators, a past president of the NC Association for Career and Technical Education Administrators, and a former Western Region Superintendent of the Year. He has served as an administrator in Transylvania County in various capacities since 1998. He has served on the NCASCD Board since 2016. He is the President-elect for NCASCD.

Jeff is married to his high school sweetheart, Lisa. He and Lisa have two sons, John, a Middle School principal in Henderson County Public Schools, married to Charity with two awesome granddaughters, Madelyn and Ava, a third grandchild on the way, and William, who works in the private sector in Buncombe County, and married to Rebecca Boyd, a teacher in the Buncombe County Schools.