Four new Hamilton County principals named for 2020-21 school year
Four Hamilton County Schools will start off the 2020-21 school year this fall with a new principal.
Allen Elementary will be led by Phillip Greeson, who is returning to Hamilton County from Laurens County, Georgia, where he has spent nine years in leadership positions for Georgia school districts.
Greeson is replacing Chris Tillett at Allen Elementary. Tillett is taking over for Elaine Harper as principal of Red Bank High School since Harper was named the executive director of the North River Learning Community this past fall.
Current assistant principal of Daisy Elementary, Jill Hall, will step into the principal role at the school this fall. Current principal Lee Ziegler moves to Hixson High School to take over for longtime Principal Lee Sims, who retired at the end of the 2019-20 school year.
John Tharp, current executive director for the Harrison Bay Learning Community, will step out of an administration role to lead Red Bank Middle School after two positions were cut from the district's office in this year's budget.
Saunya Goss, current elementary director for the Opportunity Zone, is also stepping down from administration and has been tapped to take over for Marthel Young, retiring principal at East Brainerd Elementary.
Goss is a veteran of Hamilton County Schools and will lead the school through the challenging transition it has faced since it was ravaged by a tornado in April. East Brainerd teachers and students will begin the school year at the new East Hamilton Middle School while their school undergoes renovations, according to a news release.
CSAS and CSLA earn national Paideia accreditation
The National Paideia Center and Paideia Schools for Critical Thinking announced this week that the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) and the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA) have earned accreditation by the national organization.
The magnet schools are among five schools in the country on track to earn the accreditation during the 2019-20 school year, the first year that the accreditation became available. The schools offer two of the longest-running Paideia schools in the country.
"This achievement is a credit to the teachers and administrators at CSAS and CSLA who sustain a Paideia educational program, featuring rigorous thinking and communication skills," said Terry Lee Roberts, director of National Paideia Center, in a news release. "In addition, it speaks volumes about the parents and students who have also dedicated themselves to maintaining the unique mission of these two schools. We are pleased to announce this difficult attainment, especially in the midst of truly challenging times for public schools across the nation and the globe, and we look forward to celebrating this new status when we are once again back inside these two wonderful school buildings, bringing the Paideia Program to life!"
The touted Paideia method focuses on three focuses of Paideia instruction that include didactic teaching of subject matter, coaching that produces the skills of learning and Socratic-style questioning in seminar discussions.
CSAS is approaching the school's 35th anniversary and has used the Paideia method from its inception.
"Working with the National Paideia Center is always a rigorous process, yet a pleasure," said CSAS Principal Jim Boles, in a statement. "The accreditation process had us reflect on our beliefs and challenged us to question all that we do. It was refreshing to return to our roots and [it] centered us as we work on the next 35 years. We want to be a model for the world, and we're proud to be one of the first to receive this accreditation."
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