New principals named at Beaufort High School and four other schools for the coming year
At least five Beaufort County schools are set to get new principals for the upcoming school year.
The new principals were announced at Tuesday night’s school board meeting by Superintendent Frank Rodriguez. Most of the positions, which range from the elementary level up to high school, were filled internally with one out-of-state applicant chosen.
This time last year, at least seven Beaufort County schools had principal position openings, but “internal shifts” meant nine schools would get new principals for the 2021-22 school year.
Here are the new principals:
Carla Shelton, who is coming from Greenbrier High School in Macon, Georgia, will be replacing Charity Summers as principal for Beaufort High School, according to a school district press release. Summers who has served as the school’s principal for four years will be retiring.
The position was initially posted in March, according to Frontline, a job application tracking platform.
Shelton said she was excited about the “challenges ahead of us” and building relationships with the community.
“At the end of the day, we all have to work together to move the school forward,” she said at the meeting.
Okatie Elementary’s assistant principal, Tracy Lanese, is taking over as principal for Jamie Pinckney who is retiring after 19 years at the school. In a statement on the school’s website announcing her retirement, Pinckney said she was “thankful for each person who has been a part of my trip.”
Lanese said she was excited to continue to join the school’s community and thanked her predecessor for her “dedication at this school.”
“I am so excited to be a part of that team of owls with the staff and families there. We have a great future as we spread our wings and learn new things,” she said.
Elandee “Dee Dee” Thompson who was previously an assistant principal at May River High School, will take over as principal of Beaufort Middle School, replacing the school’s current leader, Alvida Graham.
Graham will be joining the Student Services Department at the District Office, officials announced in the press release.
Thompson said she did not think she would become principal, though it had always been her goal.
“As a young child, I remember playing in the bleachers mostly but attending those Friday high school games at the BMS campus which was then Beaufort High School,” she said. “Never could I imagine then that years later this would be where I would serve the community, first as a science teacher then as an ed-tech coach.”
Michelle Brockway, who has been Hilton Head Elementary’s assistant principal since 2014, will be taking over for the school’s current principal, Sarah Owen.
Following 22 years as an educator within the district, Brockway said Tuesday that becoming principal was her next step.
“I promise to give 110% each day and work to ensure that all needs are met of the various stakeholders,” she said. “I am proud ... and thankful that I get to continue working with the students, parents and staff that I have been working with and stay in a community I love.”
May River High School assistant principal, Clinton Austin, will be taking on the role of principal at Hilton Head Middle School. The principal position was first posted in April, according to Frontline. Austin had worked as May River’s assistant principal since at least 2017 and has been with the school district for 10 years.
“To prepare myself for this principalship, I spent a lot of time asking questions and digging to get information about Hilton Head Middle School,” he said.
“From what I can tell, I am about to inherit a wonderful place with an insurmountable amount of talent in both staff and students.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 12:50 PM.
