Principal named for Whale Branch Early College High, rounding out Beaufort Co. hiring
Whale Branch Early College High School has a principal for the new school year, with just a few days to spare before students start classes.
Patricia Brantley-Moore is replacing Mona Lise Dickson as Whale Branch’s principal. Brantley-Moore comes from Hampton District One, where she served as the principal of North District Middle School.
She has over 35 years of experience in education, working as a secondary math teacher and JTPA coordinator, teacher specialist, alternative school director and assistant principal.
Brantley-Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of South Carolina. She has also taken 30 hours of coursework above the master’s level at Columbia International Theological Seminary.
“I am excited to lead Whale Branch Early College High School because of its rich history and the opportunities afforded to students wishing to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate degree,” Brantley-Moore said in a district press release.
She was approved unanimously by the school board at a special called Tuesday night meeting. The Whale Branch job was the last open principal position in the district ahead of the school year.
While Dickson won’t be leading Whale Branch Early College High School, she’s staying close by— she 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.
All three schools in the Whale Branch cluster are under new leadership this fall.
Jamie Allen will be the new principal at Whale Branch Middle School. Allen, an Army veteran, began teaching at Broad River Elementary School in 2006 and most recently served as an assistant principal there.
Allen, whose family has lived in Whale Branch since 2006, said in a press release that she is “humbly honored and excited to serve the beloved Whale Branch community.”
She’s replacing Freddie Lawton, who will serve as the district’s new capital programs educational program manager.
Marva Neal will move from an assistant principal job at Okatie Elementary, where she has worked since 2011, to replace Melissa Vogt as principal of Whale Branch Elementary. Neal, an Air Force veteran, has been with the district for more than 20 years at Okatie and St. Helena schools.