DAHLGREN, Va. –
When Jennifer Boyd’s mother served as secretary of Potomac Elementary School in King George County, she ensured children had the essentials they needed in and out of school.
She was also very active with Girl Scouts.
“I watched the things she did,” Boyd said. “That made a big impact on me.”
After Boyd had children of her own, she developed the same heart to serve.
Boyd worked with the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. She was also an active band parent in Fredericksburg City Public Schools.
When the opportunity arose for Boyd to be appointed to the Fredericksburg School Board in 2016, she didn’t hesitate to apply.
Boyd, whose full-time job is as a division head in the Warfare Analysis and Digital Modeling Department at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), is now in her third term with the school board and her second term as chair.
She used her platform to make a successful push for a brand new middle school in Fredericksburg, which is scheduled to open in 2025.
Boyd and her fellow board members also convinced the Fredericksburg City Council to agree to renovate the current middle school and turn it into a third elementary school to ease overcrowding at that level.
Boyd’s service didn’t go unnoticed at NSWCDD, which recently named the employee of 32 years a recipient of its Distinguished Community Service Award.
Boyd said the upcoming construction of the new middle school is among the board’s proudest achievements since she’s been a part of it because, “I think it will have the most lasting impact.”
“I enjoy it a lot,” Boyd said of serving on the school board. “It is a good way for me to contribute and give back to the community. I’ve learned a lot, as well. I’ve gotten just as much out of it as I’ve given.”
Boyd said she constantly refines leadership skills with the board and that feeds into her position at NSWCDD.
“It’s an opportunity to gain exposure to different situations, different people,” Boyd said of working on the board. “There are a lot of similarities but there are differences, too. It definitely helps both ways.”
Fredericksburg City Public Schools Superintendent Marci Catlett is appreciative of Boyd’s experience at NSWCDD.
Catlett said it gives Boyd a keen eye for data analysis. That was particularly helpful during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when school officials were trying to decide on virtual schooling, the safest way to hold graduation and other issues.
“She was right there aligned with helping us,” Catlett said. “I couldn’t ask for a better board than what we have here in Fredericksburg and her leadership is part of what makes it work so well.”
Catlett said she typically calls each board member to canvas their thoughts on issues in the school system, and Boyd is always “on point.”
Catlett noted that Boyd’s experience at NSWCDD with strategic planning helped the board develop its comprehensive plan to educate children in the city. Catlett said Boyd also provides the board with a parental perspective because her children grew up in Fredericksburg schools.
“It is such a pleasure to work with her,” Catlett said. “She is invested in doing what is best for all children. She does her homework. She knows the issues and she does a deep dive to find the data and develop a very logical and systematic way of analyzing everything. She is very direct and that aids us in moving forward.”
Boyd will be recognized at the NSWCDD Honorary Awards Ceremony on March 10 at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.