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Thursday, March 28, 2024

New principals named

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Several New Hanover County schools will have new principals this coming year, among them a veteran educator whose career has taken an unorthodox path.

New Sunset Park Principal Geri Martin, who is also fluent in Spanish, served tenures as school superintendent in McDowell and Orange counties, according to reports in the Triangle area. She generated controversy in McDowell County by omitting a religious reference in a 6-year-old student’s Veterans Day poem, the Durham Herald reported. As a result, the board clarified its policy on religious expression.

She later served as superintendent for Orange County, a larger school district, but Martin resigned her post there eight months later. The News & Observer of Raleigh quoted the school board chairman as saying Martin resigned to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She also received severance pay. The chairman would not comment when the Raleigh reporter asked about Martin’s performance as superintendent.

Most recently she was an education consultant with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

Martin was in meetings this week and could not be reached for comment, but New Hanover Schools Superintendent Tim Markley said administrators always consider past employment and performance in hiring decisions. He said he is confident she will be a good fit in her new position.

She replaces Jakki Jethro, who is now the district’s Title I schools coach.

Meanwhile, Susan Sellers, who has been a school transformation coach with the DPI, will take over as principal at Freeman Elementary. Markley said federal Race to the Top education funds expire this year, and with them a number of Department of Public Instruction jobs.

Regina Wooten is the new principal at Wilmington Early College High School. She was program coordinator for the school and previously taught English at Laney and Lakeside high schools and the Mosley Performance Learning Center.

At the same meeting, Sam Kantrowitz, assistant principal at Myrtle Grove Middle School, was named principal of the College Road Early Childhood Learning Center, and the following assistant principal assignments were announced:

Sabrina Hill Black, Virgo Preparatory Academy; Luis Cruz, Roland-Grise Middle; Calvin D. Miller, Alderman Elementary; Leigh Gates, Eaton Elementary; and Rob Morgan, New Hanover High.

The end of a school year often brings new administrative assignments. Markley made several transfers last month, most notably the reassignment of Ashley High School Principal Jackson Norvell to Wrightsville Beach School. He replaced Mary Paul Beall, who is the new principal at Isaac Bear Early College High School. Murray Middle School Principal Patrick McCarty became the new principal at Ashley, and Isaac Bear Principal Phillip Sutton moved to Murray Middle.

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