Principal changes set for 2010-11
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 27, 2010 1:50 AM
Several administrative changes in the district have been announced, including shifts for principals at six schools and the naming of seven new assistant principals.
Changes will be effective July 1 for principals and Aug. 18 for assistant principals. All assignments are pending official approval by the Wayne County Board of Education at its July 6 meeting.
The only departing principal at school year's end was Patsy Faison, principal at Tommy's Road Elementary since it first opened in 2000. Her retirement is effective June 30.
Wendy Hooks, principal at Brogden Primary School, will take over the reins at Tommy's Road, where she formerly served as Mrs. Faison's assistant principal when the school first opened.
Mrs. Hooks' education career began in 1989 in Sampson County, where she was a teacher at Union Elementary School. Ten years later, she came to Wayne County Public Schools, spending 11 years teaching at Brogden Primary, Meadow Lane Elementary and then curriculum facilitator at Eastern Wayne Elementary.
Following two years as an administrator at Tommy's Road, she was named principal of Grantham School in 2002 and then at Brogden in 2004.
Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in elementary education from East Carolina University and master's degrees in education from Fayetteville State University and supervision and administration from ECU.
Longtime Goldsboro High principal Patricia Burden will become principal at Wayne High Academy. Robert Yelverton, who has been administrator at both Wayne Middle and Wayne High academies this year following the transfer of John Twitty as co-principal at Goldsboro High School, will resume his duties as principal at the middle academy.
Ms. Burden's departure from GHS is part of a stipulation of the U.S. Department of Education Transformation Model grant that the school is seeking, requiring that any principal in place for two years or longer can no longer serve in that position.
Ms. Burden's education career began in 1970 as a teacher in the Philadelphia Public Schools. For the next 20 years, she taught in Pensacola, Fla., and Carlsbad, Calif. She became an administrator in 1978, first as assistant principal and then Brogden Junior High in 1990, when she returned home to work in Wayne County.
She was named Goldsboro High's principal in 2000, after six years as principal at Goldsboro Middle School.
She holds a bachelor's degree in education from East Carolina University and a master's degree in education administration from Chapman University in California.
Twitty will remain at GHS as sole principal and overseer of the administrative, curriculum and instructional responsibilities.
Kelly Langston, an assistant principal at Charles B. Aycock since 2009, will become principal at Eastern Wayne Elementary School. She is replacing Beverly Smith, who requested an opportunity for professional growth at a middle or high school. Mrs. Smith will become an assistant principal at Spring Creek High.
Ms. Langston was hired by the district in 2001, first as an elementary teacher at Fremont STARS Elementary and later Title I lead teacher and curriculum facilitator there.
She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from UNC-Wilmington and also holds a master's degree in elementary education and a certification in school administration.
Mount Olive Middle School will also have a new administrator, replacing Gail Sasser, who is completing a doctoral program in leadership with a minor in curriculum and instruction. She requested the opportunity for professional development in the area of curriculum and instruction, and will become a district teaching and learning coach.
Her successor will be Tammy Keel, who has been assistant principal at Brogden Middle School since 2006. Before that, she had been assistant principal at Grantham School for one year.
This marks a return to Mount Olive Middle for Mrs. Keel, whose career as a teacher in Wayne County began there in 1999.
She earned both an associate degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in management and organizational development from Mount Olive College. She was a N.C. Principal's Fellow from 2003-04 and earned a master's degree in administration from ECU in 2005.
Succeeding Ms. Hooks as principal at Brogden Primary will be Youlonda Wynn, who has worked in education since 1997 and was assistant principal at Grantham since 2006.
She first worked in Durham before coming to WCPS in 1998 as a second-grade teacher at North Drive Elementary and then later at Northeast Elementary.
Both a N.C. Teaching Fellow and N.C. Principals Fellow, she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from N.C. Central University and a master's degree in school administration from ECU.
Assistant principal changes were also made at seven schools.
* Linda Brown-Rouse, assistant principal at Brogden Primary, will move to Grantham School.
* Karla Smith, a teacher at Rosewood Elementary, will become an assistant principal at Brogden Primary.
* Michelle Hamm, formerly LP resource person at Fremont STARS, will be an assistant principal at Brogden Middle School.
* Damesha Smith, teaching and learning coach, will be an assistant principal at Eastern Wayne Elementary.
* Na-Tale Nelson, Carver Elementary School teacher, will move into the administrative role at Mount Olive Middle.
New assistant principal at Charles B. Aycock High will be Wendy Crane, formerly a teacher at Wayne School of Engineering.
Spring Creek Elementary School teacher Cheryll Price will also transition into administration, as assistant principal at Rosewood Middle.
One assistant principal, Cynthia Reynolds, who has been at Spring Creek High since 2004, will move to the central office. Named director of middle grades/professional development/accreditation, she succeeds Dr. Ruby Bell, who retired earlier this year.
Mrs. Reynolds has worked in education since 1998, first in Charlotte and then Johnston County. She came to WCPS in 2003 as a business education teacher at Goldsboro High.
She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, a master's degree in educational leadership from N.C. State and is currently working on a doctorate degree in K-12 education leadership.
In making the announcement, Dr. Steven Taylor, schools superintendent, said the new assignments reflect a positive change for students, staff and parents.
"All of these employees have proven that they have the character, the educational backgrounds, and the needed leadership skills to effectively manage our schools," he said. "We look forward to welcoming all of them into their new positions."