Three Hamilton County public schools will have new principals this fall

Clifton Hills Elementary School in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Clifton Hills Elementary School in Chattanooga, Tennessee

The leadership at most of Hamilton County's schools will remain the same this fall, with just three elementary schools getting new principals.

The district announced Tuesday that Lindsay Starnes, assistant principal at Clifton Hills Elementary, has been promoted to principal and Red Bank Elementary assistant principal Megan Bray is now the principal at Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy. Thrasher Academy assistant principal Jeff Paulson will now serve as the school's leader.

Hamilton County Schools Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly said strong school leaders are essential to student success.

New principals

* Clifton Hills Elementary: Lindsay Starnes* Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy: Megan Bray* Thrasher Academy: Jeff Paulson

photo Hamilton County School Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly speaks during a combination announcement by VW and Hamilton County Schools stating that eight area schools will receive new "e-labs" this upcoming school year. The event which announced VW is donating $1 million to build the labs was held at Dalewood Middle School on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

"Great school leaders are the key to ensuring there is an excellent teacher in every classroom," Kelly said in a statement. "We are confident that these principals will provide outstanding leadership in their new placements."

Last year was the first time Kelly and his leadership team appointed principals, changing the leadership at 16 schools across the district.

But this year, the district wanted to make as few principal changes as possible, said Jill Levine, chief academic officer for the district.

"We believe school change happens over years, sometimes even three to five years," Levine said. "Keeping principals in place is good for the stability of the school."

Between 2010 and 2013, the district shuffled the leadership at more than a dozen schools each year. And in 2014, seven of the county's more than 70 schools received new principals.

But in 2015, then Superintendent Rick Smith announced that just three schools would have new leaders - Red Bank Middle, Orchard Knob Middle and Tyner Middle Academy.

The district also took a different approach this year to selecting principals, moving away from a simple interview to a three-step selection process.

Over the years, many have seen principal selection as an extension of the "good-old-boy system" in which friends and allies of district administrators were picked for top posts. Attempting to combat this, district officials say the new system gives the selection process more integrity.

Levine said the new process also helped the district find the best future leaders.

"We feel like the process has given us much better information about candidates and made the process much more transparent," she said Tuesday.

The new selection process began with an interview, and then promising candidates were brought to the central office for a group "fishbowl-style" interview in which they discussed a given scenario among themselves while select community members and district officials evaluated them. In the final step, an assistant superintendent shadowed the candidates as they worked in their current positions.

Hamilton County Schools also announced Tuesday afternoon two changes within the district's central office.

Erin Harrell is leaving her post at Project Inspire, a local teacher residency program, and will serve as the coordinator of field experience and teacher recruitment for Hamilton County Schools. Harrell served as the assistant director at Project Inspire, which was founded by the Public Education Foundation.

Meanwhile, John Maynard has been appointed the district's new director of college and career readiness. Maynard has worked in the district since 1993. He most recently supervised secondary school counselors and helped launch the district's Mechatronics Akademie at Volkswagen.

The district plans to announce assistant principal appointments Friday.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.

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