New leader of Northeast Learning Community likes to be in the schools. What you may not know about him: He’s a motorcyclist and ordained minister.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has consolidated its regional learning communities, placing Area Superintendent Scott Muri in charge of a newly defined Northeast Zone, which includes north Meck-area schools.

The former North Learning Community, which had overseen the operation of the Davidson and other Lake Norman area schools, was combined July 1 with University City, central Charlotte and west Charlotte schools to create the new Northeast Zone. The office is at Long Creek Elementary School, off Beatties Ford Road. (The address is 9425 Midas Springs Road in Huntersville.)

John Muri

Mr. Muri takes over as the leader of area schools from Monique Gardner-Witherspoon, who ran the old North Learning Community. She is now in charge of the Southwest Zone.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools serves more than 137,000 students in pre-kindergarten through the 12the  grade. The district restructured its seven learning communities, which were created in 2007 to decentralize the district, into five zones. The newly restructured zones helped to reduce overall district costs, according to school officials. The new zones are the Northeast, which Mr. Muri oversees, the Southwest, Central-Elementary, Central-Secondary and East.

Mr. Muri came to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools from Osceola County Schools in Florida in 2007 to lead the old Northeast Learning Community, which oversaw University City area schools.

A 1988 graduate of Wake Forest University, Mr. Muri has two bachelor’s degrees in intermediate education and middle school education. He also holds a master’s degree in education from Stetson University and is currently completing his doctorate in education leadership at Wingate University.

A native of Middletown, R.I., Mr. Muri said he wanted to be a pediatric surgeon when he started college, but soon discovered that his real passion was working with children and science. So he decided to become a science teacher.

Following graduation, Mr. Muri taught middle school science in Avery County. In 1994, he was one of the first 81 teachers in the country to become Nationally Board Certified. He was among the first eight teachers in North Carolina to receive that distinction, he said.

Gardner-Witherspoon

Mr. Muri said because his first love is teaching, you will most often find him in one of the schools he oversees.

Mr. Muri said one of the most interesting experiences he has had as an educator was helping establish the technology programs for schools in Celebration, Fla., the town Disney started. He was the fourth person to move into the town, he said.

“I went there because it was exciting and a great opportunity,” Mr. Muri said.

While in Celebration, Mr. Muri also became an ordained minister, which he said often surprises folks. He has married people and helped found the Celebration Community Church, where he preached and served as interim pastor for nine months. Mr. Muri said he also served as youth minister. Now Mr. Muri belongs to Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte. He sometimes performs on handbells and percussion for his church, but no longer preaches, he said.

Mr. Muri worked and lived in Celebration for 11 years. He started as technology administrator and advanced to assistant principal and principal of Celebration High School. Then it was time for a new challenge, he said. He chose to come to the Charlotte area because it was progressive and innovative.

When Mr. Muri isn’t busy overseeing the Northeast Learning Community’s 36 schools, he likes to relax with some fellow Charlotte Mecklenburg school officials by taking a ride on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Over the last month, Mr. Muri has been busy getting to know the new schools in his area and their leaders. He has been looking at test scores and school needs.

“We are very data-centric in the way we set goals here,” Mr. Muri said. “We’re in the process of determining what our goals are. Science will be a big area of focus. Science is an area where we’ve noticed some need.”

Mr. Muri said technology also would be a focus. He said it’s not just making sure the classrooms have the technology, though, he also wants to make sure teachers and school leaders have the training to understand how best to use emerging technologies to foster learning.

“If I had $100,000 to spend on technology, I’d spend it on training,” he said.

“Technology is not just computers, it’s connecting with people around the world,” he said, adding that students can take field trips around the globe without ever leaving the classroom.

Mr. Muri said learning communities operate as a sort of smaller school district within the larger Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. The new consolidated Northeast Zone has eight high schools including the Hopewell, North Mecklenburg and the new Hough High School, scheduled to open in August. The list also includes Mallard Creek High School, Military and Global Leadership Academy at Marie G. Davis, Northwest School of the Arts, West Charlotte High and Vance High.

Mr. Muri said he hopes the transition to a larger learning community is smooth for everyone. He said the biggest change for most folks is only who they turn to when they have a question, problem or need help.

“Hopefully, it will be positive, but very incremental changes,” he said.