Richmond County Daily Journal

VIDEO: Associate Superintendent Dennis Quick to retire this month

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal Dennis Quick, center, accepts a plaque and bouquet of flowers from the Dobbins Heights Town Council on Thursday. Pictured are, from left, Councilwoman Angeline David, Councilwoman Mary Ann Gibson, Mayor Antonio Blue, Councilwoman Revonna Magee, Quick, and Mayor Pro Tem Tyre Holloway.

ROCKINGHAM — After 39 years in education, Dennis Quick, a Dobbins Heights native, is retiring at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

Quick began his teaching career in the town of Oxford, where he taught for one year. In 1978, he became a French teacher and a football, basketball and track coach at Richmond Senior High School for another one-year period.

After 30 years in Guilford County, Lexington City and the Alamance-Burlington school systems as both a teacher and administrator, he returned to Richmond County in 2008 to become assistant principal at the school that started his teaching journey. Quick became assistant principal a few years later at the Ninth Grade Academy, and became principal the following year. In 2013, he was promoted to the executive director for auxiliary services of Richmond County. Two years ago, he was appointed associate superintendent.

His last day will be June 30.

“I perfectly believe that Richmond County is a great place for young people to grow up,” Quick said in an interview Friday. “There’s so many good values that kids gain in Richmond County.”

Quick said that being in the classroom with students is always the most enjoyable part of education. As an administrator, he considered himself a “servant leader” whose job it was to make sure that the conditions are right for teacher to perform their job at the highest level.

“I’ve always been proud of what he’s done and what he’s accomplished,” said Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio Blue at a ceremony in Quick’s honor at the town’s monthly meeting Thursday. “Any time I called him and needed something, he’s always been there — always, without hesitation.”

The Dobbins Heights Town Council presented Quick with a plaque for all of his work promoting citizenship and education, and gave him a bouquet of flowers for his wife, who could not attend due to a doctor’s appointment.

“God blessed us with bringing Dennis back,” said Superintendent Jeff Maples at the meeting. “You’ve been my right hand. I’m going to miss you and do everything I can to get you off that golf course and get you doing something for Richmond County Schools.”

Richmond County Board of Education Member Ronald Tillman said that Quick’s commitment has been priceless.

“I’m sad, but excited for you,” Tillman said before a packed Dobbins Heights Town Hall. “Enjoy every moment.”

Board Member Daryl Mason said Quick is a “classic guy” that is always calm and collected.

“I appreciate all your service that you’ve done here for Richmond County,” Mason said. “I know there are a lot of young men and ladies in the county that look up to you as I have. It’s going to create a void as far as minorities in our school system that we’re going to have to fill.”

Quick grew up in a family of nine children. His mother was the driving force of the family.

“She didn’t decide what education you were going to get, but she did decide you were getting an education,” said LeRoy Quick, Dennis’s older brother.

Quick attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied French, which was a surprise to his brother. LeRoy said that his brother’s integrity, as well as his ability to perform the role that is expected of him, has enabled his success.

“He is an extremely giving person,” LeRoy said. “That’s in both his family as well as in his career. He’s always extending himself to the betterment of other people.”

For a brief time in high school, Quick wanted to be a doctor, but soon realized he couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Amid all of the changes in his teaching career, which Quick said allowed him to reinvent himself constantly, he also briefly worked as a baker.

One of the main reasons for his retirement is the birth of a grandson three weeks ago, who Quick said he will be spending more time with now. Watching his former students build their own families has been one of the most rewarding parts of his career, he said.

“When I go back and encounter my former students, they tell me they’re parents now and the good things they’re doing with their children,” Quick said. “To me, that’s a sign of success right there — when they’ve learned so much and want to share that with you.”