Schools make principal changes
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 13, 2016 1:46 PM
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Wayne County Public Schools has announced two administrative changes for the coming year, moving the longtime Grantham principal across the county and replacing the retiring Brogden Middle School principal.
The Board of Education approved the reassignments, traditionally announced at the end of the school year. Both become effective July 1.
Grantham Middle School principal Lisa Tart will replace Norwayne Middle School interim principal Barbara Wilkins, and the district's Title I coordinator, Dr. Damesha Smith, will take over the reins at Brogden Middle School, where Sylvester Townsend is retiring.
Barbara Wilkins, former principal at Norwayne, returned there in January. She had retired from the district in 2005 and became the inaugural graduation coach hired by Communities in Schools, serving at Goldsboro High School since 2009.
Norwayne Principal Mario Re, who had been hired there as assistant principal in 2003 and became principal in 2005, resigned from the position Dec. 9, citing personal reasons.
The move for Mrs. Tart marks a poignant end to her leadership in the Grantham community.
Since 2006, she had been principal of the Grantham School, at the helm throughout the long-awaited construction of its middle school.
The new high-tech Grantham Middle School opened this year. Mrs. Tart often shared with pride that the group of students, now in eighth grade, were the ones she started out with when they were kindergartners -- "so it will be the first and last group I have had that experience with," she had said.
Mrs. Tart has more than 22 years of education experience. She began her education career in 1994 as an English/language arts and social studies teacher at Forest Hills Middle in Wilson, moving to Wayne County Public Schools in 1996 as an English/history teacher at Rosewood Middle School. In 2000 she was named assistant principal at Rosewood Middle and two years later became its principal.
In 2011, she was twice recognized for her administrative abilities, as the Southeastern Regional Principal of the Year and a National Association of Elementary School Principals National Distinguished Principal.
She has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in middle grades education. She is also certified as a school administrator and a curriculum and instruction specialist.
The district's Title I Coordinator since 2013, Ms. Smith has 13 years of experience in the field of education.
Prior to coming to central office, she was elementary curriculum specialist at Eastern Wayne Elementary School. She had also been a Teaching and Learning Coach in the TLC program with the WCPS human resources department.
She also has a previous connection to Brogden Middle School, having served as a literacy coach and teacher there.
Ms. Smith holds a bachelor's degree in history education, a master's degree in school administration and a doctorate degree in educational leadership.
The district's superintendent, Dr. Michael Dunsmore, praised the two new administrators who will take over their respective roles in the coming weeks.
"(They) will bring to their new schools a diverse set of experiences, strengths, and backgrounds," he said. "I look forward to working with them in their new roles, and supporting them in their efforts to bring out the very best in their students and staff."
No replacement has been named for Grantham Middle.