3 finalists named for director job at Beaufort County’s Riverview Charter School
Nearly five months after longtime director Alison Thomas abruptly resigned from her position, Port Royal’s Riverview Charter School has named three finalists to take over her job.
The school’s board of directors will hold closed-session interviews of each candidate Thursday and Friday.
On Monday, the school will host a community Zoom to meet the finalists at 7 p.m.
The link to that meeting will be posted on the school’s website by Friday, according to a press release.
The three finalists are:
- Joseph Almeida, a lower school principal at Savannah’s Calvary Day School. He previously served as an assistant principal at Hilton Head Island Middle School and taught in South American schools for nine years.
- Annette Medlin, a veteran nonprofit and chamber of commerce director. According to her LinkedIn page, she has previously served as the president of chambers of commerce in Fisherville, Virginia; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Georgetown County in South Carolina.
- Karen Miller, a sixth-grade English language arts teacher at Riverview who has been at the school since it opened in 2011. Miller is also the founder of Sea Island Presbyterian Day School and formerly taught at Lady’s Island Middle School.
“Each candidate we are meeting brings great skill and experience in a variety of venues,” board chairperson Reece Bertholf said in a release. “Our job is to find who will be the best fit to lead Riverview to the next chapter of success.”
Why did the previous director resign?
Thomas announced her resignation Oct. 19, one week before the school transitioned from a hybrid “half-day” schedule to four days a week of full-time, face-to-face classes.
The decision to begin full-time classes was made by the board of directors and opposed by Thomas, who wanted to return to full-day instruction on Nov. 9, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
Sarah Cox, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, has served as its interim director since Nov. 1.
The school switched to virtual learning in December, following a COVID-19 infection that led the entire sixth grade to quarantine and a staffing shortage at the school.
The school returned to four days a week of full-time, in-person classes (along with a continuing virtual option) in January following winter break.