County schools announce administrative changes
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 22, 2016 1:46 PM
More administrative changes have been announced by Wayne County Public Schools, including five principal shifts and more than a dozen assistant principals named.
Earlier in the month, officials had made two principal changes -- moving Grantham Middle School Principal Lisa Tart to the role at Norwayne Middle and naming the district's title I coordinator, Dr. Damesha Smith, to take over at Brogden Middle School, where Sylvester Townsend is retiring.
On the heels of the school board approving the regrouping plan, repurposing several central attendance area schools effective in the 2016-2017 school year, School Street Elementary School will be converted into a more expansive Pre-K building, developing an early learning center on the campus.
Karen Whichard, principal at Meadow Lane Elementary School since 2012, will become the WCPS Pre-K coordinator. Her role will be to oversee all Pre-K operations around the district and the early learning program at School Street.
Mrs. Whichard has 23 years experience in education, including a stint as principal at Brogden Middle. She had also been assistant principal at Meadow Lane and Goldsboro Middle and previously taught math in Durham, Wilson and at Brogden Middle.
"I believe Mrs. Whichard will be highly valuable in her new role," Dr. Michael Dunsmore, schools superintendent, said. "Not only will she help oversee the Pre-K operations and programs across our school district, but she will be instrumental in helping develop and operate an early learning program that promotes school readiness for students in our central attendance zone."
The Carver Heights Elementary principal for the past five years, Dr. William Vann III will become the coordinator of the new WCPS Alternative Learning Program. Based at Wayne Middle/High Academy, his role will be to research, design and implement an effective alternative learning program for the district.
Vann, whose career in education began 15 years ago, also had experience as an exceptional children's teacher at Brogden Middle.
The superintendent said the leadership team at the central office is looking forward to the newly created role to help support students in need of alternative learning services.
"While Wayne Academy has helped support students for several years, we feel that a more effective model of alternative learning needs to be put into place in order to help more students become successful," he said.
Cortrina Smith, principal at School Street since 2009, will become administrator at Carver Heights Elementary, which will convert to serve students in grades 3-5. Her teaching career began in 1998 in Georgia, joining WCPS in 2002 as curriculum facilitator at Eastern Wayne Elementary. She became assistant principal at North Drive in 2003 and three years later was named principal at Goldsboro Intermediate School.
Wendy Hooks, principal at Grantham School and Brogden Primary before taking over as principal at Tommy's Road in 2010, will take over the helm at Meadow Lane Elementary. Since starting her career as a teacher in Sampson County, she came to WCPS in 1999 and spent the next 11 years as a teacher at Brogden Primary and Meadow Lane before becoming a curriculum facilitator at Eastern Wayne Elementary.
Tameka Allen, elementary curriculum specialist at Tommy's Road for the past four years, will replace Mrs. Hooks as principal there. Her education career began in 2001, as a teacher at Brogden Primary School, then parent facilitator at the school. In 2007, she was named an assistant principal at Meadow Lane.
Makita Jenkins, the district's assistant principal of the year in both 2013 and 2015, will become the new principal at Grantham Middle School. An educator since 1988, she started her teaching career in Virginia, going on to work in different roles across six states before joining WCPS in 2006. She taught at North Drive Elementary, where she was later named Title I coordinator and was named assistant principal at Norwayne Middle in 2015.
"All of these principals have demonstrated that they have the leadership ability and expertise to successfully lead these schools," Dunsmore said. "These principal changes will take effect July 1.
"Our administrative team will be working with each other principals to help ensure they have a smooth transition as they work to launch a new school year at their campuses."
Other assistant principal and elementary curriculum specialist changes approved by the school board include the following:
Joshua McClure, Greene County Middle North Carolina Principal Fellow Intern, will be assistant principal at Brogden Middle School.
Christy Straughan-Haley, assistant principal at Brogden Middle, will be elementary curriculum specialist at Brogden Primary.
Wendy Crane, elementary curriculum specialist at Meadow Lane Elementary, and Craig Uzzell, assistant principal at Wayne Middle/High Academy, will share duties as the elementary curriculum specialists at Carver Heights.
Carol Hollar-Watson, an English teacher at Wayne Early/Middle College High, will be assistant principal at Eastern Wayne High.
George Franklin, Title I tutor at Carver Heights, will be assistant principal at Eastern Wayne Middle.
Kenneth Sumler, formerly assistant principal at Smithfield Selma High, will be an assistant principal at Goldsboro High.
Karla Smith, elementary curriculum specialist at Brogden Primary, moves to Meadow Lane Elementary in the same capacity.
Nicole Carter, elementary curriculum facilitator at Meadow Lane, will take over that role at Northeast Elementary.
Bridgette Cowan, a fourth-grade teacher at Carver Elementary, will become the new assistant principal at Norwayne Middle.
Connie Harrell, English teacher at Charles B. Aycock High, will be assistant principal at Rosewood Middle.
Lois Marshall, elementary curriculum specialist at Northeast Elementary, will take over the role at Tommy's Road Elementary.
Sherri Hobbs, assistant principal at Eastern Wayne High, will serve in that capacity at Wayne Middle/High Academy.