BOE Appoints New Leaders, Approves Classroom Addition

WOODSTOCK, GA — The Cherokee County School Board moved ahead with the second leg of shuffling its school-level leaders at its Thursday, April 19 meeting. Board members appointed new district and school leaders for the 2018-19 school year and approved a new classroom addition at Mill Creek Middle School.

After approving a slew of new principals last month, the board named assistant principals to vacancies created by some of the appointments, as well as any other leadership roles still to be filled for next school year.

“We’re very proud of all these leaders – those who’ve grown with us, stars we’ve stolen from other school districts and those who’ve left us and who we stole back,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower said as he introduced the new leaders, noting all of the promoted leaders from within CCSD have completed his Superintendent’s Leadership Academy development program. “We try to give lots of experiences to our teacher-leaders to get them ready to be assistant principals.”

One principal appointment was on the agenda, as a result of Boston Elementary School Principal Izell McGruder moving into a new role as an administrator in the Office of Curriculum & Instruction overseeing English for Speakers of Other Languages programs.

His post at Boston will be filled by Valerie Lowery, who is an assistant principal at Canton ES STEM Academy. She has 21 years of experience as a teacher, media specialist, academic coach and administrator -- all with Cherokee County, where she also attended school herself as a child before earning her bachelor, master and specialist degrees.

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The board also appointed LaToya Gray as supervisor for special education. Currently Principal of Summit Hill Elementary School in Milton, Gray has 18 years of experience, including previously serving with the district as a special education facilitator and speech language pathologist.

Additional CCSD and school leadership changes as a result of Thursday’s appointments include:

• Dr. Catherine Head as Coordinator of Curriculum (currently Little River Elementary School Instructional Lead Strategist);
• Maria Rosario-Regan as Curriculum & Instruction - Title 1 Administrator (currently Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy Assistant Principal);
• Lyn Turnell as Curriculum & Instruction - Student Assessment Administrator (currently Etowah High School Assistant Principal);
• Tonya Sebring as School Operations - Administrator (currently Woodstock High School Assistant Principal);
• Erica Morrie as Carmel Elementary School Assistant Principal (currently Woodstock Elementary School teacher);
• Elizabeth Spell as Cherokee High School Assistant Principal (currently Teasley MS Assistant Principal);
• Jonathan Hall as Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy Assistant Principal (currently Woodstock Elementary School Assistant Principal);
• Brett Pinckard as Etowah High School Assistant Principal (currently River Ridge High School teacher);
• Justin Sanderson as Etowah High School Assistant Principal (currently Etowah Teacher on Special Assignment (TSA));
• Jennifer Jones as Etowah Assistant Principal (currently Cherokee HS teacher);
• Christy Rich as Hasty Fine Arts Academy Assistant Principal (currently Curriculum & Instruction TSA);
• Jillian Nichols as Little River Assistant Principal (currently Clark Creek ES Assistant Principal);
• Lori Etheridge as Mountain Road Elementary School Assistant Principal (currently Mountain Road ES TSA);
• Denna Vance as R.M. Moore Elementary School Assistant Principal (currently R.M. Moore ES TSA);
• Lauren Roach as R.M. Moore ES Assistant Principal (currently Canton ES Assistant Principal);
• Donald Garner as Sequoyah High School Assistant Principal (currently CCSD special education facilitator);
• Julie Peppers as Sixes Elementary School Assistant Principal (currently Carmel ES Assistant Principal);
• Dr. Julie Dutko as Teasley Middle School Assistant Principal (currently Holly Springs ES STEM Academy instructional lead strategist);
• Wesley Satterfield as Tippens Education Center Assistant Principal (currently support and service administrator at Blackwell ES in Cobb County);
• Ann Jordan as Woodstock ES Assistant Principal (currently Johnston ES instructional lead strategist);
• Meagan Biello as Woodstock High School Assistant Principal (currently Cherokee HS Assistant Principal);
• Lee Davis as Clark Creek ES STEM Academy TSA (currently Indian Knoll ES instructional lead strategist); and,
• Kim Barger as Ralph Bunche Center TSA (currently CCSD special education facilitator).

Board members also chose the contractor to build a voter-approved classroom addition at Mill Creek Middle School. The $7.4 million project will be funded by Education SPLOST revenues, as approved by voters in the 2016 renewal, with funding also coming from the state of Georgia, as the school’s growth earned construction dollars for CCSD.

The proposal from Womack, Lewis & Smith selected by the board came in under the $8 million budget. Construction on the two-story addition will take 24 months beginning this summer and includes 24 classrooms and a global learning theatre.

Dr. Hightower also shared with the School Board an update on his Ad Hoc Safety & Security Committee, noting he would, at the May 3 meeting, present recommendations from the Committee and information on the financial impact should the improvements be approved in next school year’s budget.

Board members also:

• Announced longtime Etowah HS PE teacher and renowned coach Rob Graner as the new girls basketball head coach, and the hiring of Regina Tate-Leslie, a successful coach and AP science and math teacher, who is joining Woodstock HS as a teacher and girls basketball head coach;
• Recognized Woodstock HS Principal Mark Smith as the Georgia Library Media Association’s Distinguished Administrator of the Year;
• Recognized Cherokee HS Principal Todd Miller as The Georgia Forensics Coaches Association’s Distinguished Administrator of the Year;
• Recognized Clark Creek ES STEM Academy Teacher Teresa Bailey as Georgia’s 2018 International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Elementary Teacher Excellence Award winner;
• Recognized CCSD Counselor of the Year Rod Metcalf of Woodstock MS and the Innovation Zone Counselors of the Year;
• Recognized Sixes ES media specialist Elizabeth Wall as a Common Sense Media Educator;
• Recognized Etowah HS freshman Sarah Oburu for acceptance into the Disney Dreamers Academy;
• Recognized CCSD 2018 Spelling Bee winners and their Region and State Bee success;
• Recognized CCSD Elementary School and Middle School Reading Bowl first-place winners: Indian Knoll ES and Mill Creek MS;
• Recognized Cherokee HS Speech and Debate Team members as 2018 National Speech and Debate Tournament qualifiers;
• Recognized CCSD Region and State Technology Fair winners;
• Recognized Sequoyah HS senior Spencer Mann and sophomore Jacob Allred for placing at the Georgia SkillsUSA Automotive Technology Competition;
• Recognized Creekview HS and Woodstock HS students for Georgia 4-H achievements;
• Recognized State and Regional Champions: Creekview HS literary team Region champs; Sequoyah HS literary team Region and State champs; and Etowah HS boys basketball team Region champs;
• Recognized Cherokee HS senior Haley Hutchison as recipient of 2018 Pine Bluff Landfill/Waste Management Scholarship for $5,000;
• Approved the renewal of a partnership agreement with Bethesda Community Clinic;
• Approved monthly financial reports;
• Approved preparation, pricing and marketing for the sale of bonds for Education SPLOST projects;
• Approved out-of-state and overnight student field trips and professional development;
• Approved special lease agreements; and,
• Met in executive session to discuss personnel and student disciplinary matters.