"I think it's important for the superintendent to be visible with a purpose," says Dr. Ingram. "And to have first hand knowledge of what the issues are for students and staff, and the community in general."

Dr. Ingram visited six schools to learn more about their summer school programs, and to talk to staff, students and parents about the issues concerning them.

"With him knowing that information upfront we can come together and talk about things that we need to do to make the district the way it should be," says William N. DeBerry Elementary Principal Mary Worthy.

Once past the first day formalities, parents, administrators and Dr. Ingram all agreed on the need to keep students inside the classrooms.

"Attendance is the first thing that we need to change," says parent Mattie Jenkins. "We need to make sure that every scholar gets to school on time and every day."

"When we talk about attendance we need to look at it from the perspective of attendance for students and attendance for staff," says Dr. Ingram.

An issue that has a large effect on Ingram's number one concern.

"The most burning part is that of student achievement," says Dr. Ingram. "There are a couple of statistics that should be particularly alarming to all of us, and that is the high school graduation rate and the high school drop out rate."

A problem parents and administrators hope Dr. Ingram will work with them on face to face, as he plans to visit all of Springfield's schools during his first six month's in office.