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Don Leigh (June 8, 2012) |
HUSTONVILLE — The new principal for Hustonville Elementary School will be Don Leigh, who has led McKinney Elementary School for a decade, Lincoln County Board of Education officials announced Friday.
Leigh will begin his new position July 2. The school switch is a promotion since McKinney Elementary has 165 students and Hustonville Elementary has 402, said Pam Hart, Chief Deputy of Quality Management for the Lincoln County Board of Education.
“Our combined goal of making each student college and career ready is a shared task that will take an ‘All hands on deck effort.’” Leigh said. “As parents are the first teachers for their student, we'll do our best at being the second, and look forward to the strengthening of relationships to make this a process we're all proud of and happy about doing.”
Former principal David Morris resigned last month to take a job as finance director with the Boyle County Board of Education. Lincoln School Superintendent Karen Hatter and members of the Hustonville Elementary council interviewed eight of 17 applicants for the position.
“The decision was not easy. The applicant pool was replete with many highly qualified and well prepared applicants,” Hatter said. “However, Mr. Leigh has demonstrated strong educational leadership and has a record of accomplishing continuous improvement in student learning outcomes.”
Hatter met with McKinney Elementary faculty and staff on Friday to initiate the search for a 2012-13 principal. Under state law, she must serve as the head of the school’s site-based council until officials hire a new principal.
“We definitely want a top-notch candidate for the principal position at McKinney Elementary, one of our top-performing schools that has a strong tradition of academic excellence,” Hatter said. “The school’s level of high expectations for student achievement will require a leader who has a vision and the skills to continue on the same path. That is the kind of leader we intend to select for McKinney.”
The entire Lincoln County school district has a renewed focus on academic achievement since the state declared the high school “persistently low-achieving” last year. In several recent Board of Education meetings, Hatter and Hart stressed the importance of preparing students for a college or career by increasing expectations for academic achievement in every grade level.
