Education

Principal named for Whale Branch Middle; 1 Beaufort Co. school still without principal

Jamie Allen will serve as Whale Branch Middle School’s principal this fall, Beaufort County School District officials confirmed Wednesday.

Allen previously served as an assistant principal and teacher at Broad River Elementary School. She won the school’s teacher of the year award for the 2011-12 school year.

She’s replacing Freddie Lawton as principal. Lawton is staying with the district, and will serve as its new Capital Programs Educational Program Manager, according to district spokesperson Candace Bruder.

One school in the district still doesn’t have a principal named for the start of school on Aug. 16.

Bruder said the district is “in the process of evaluating the final candidates” for the principal job at Whale Branch Early College High School.

If the final candidate is an internal district hire, the school board will not have to vote to approve their hiring. If they’re an external hire, they’ll have to be approved by the school board, which will not meet again until Aug. 17 — one day after the first day of school.

The new principal at Whale Branch Early College High School will be replacing Mona Lise Dickson, who was promoted to an executive director position with the district. She’ll supervise principals at assigned schools “with a focus on instructional leadership” and act as liaison between schools and the district office.

Rachel Jones
The Island Packet
Rachel Jones covers education for the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has worked for the Daily Tar Heel and Charlotte Observer. She has won awards from the South Carolina Press Association, Associated College Press and North Carolina College Media Association for feature writing and education reporting.
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