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School officials juggle principals
By Derek Hodges
Three more Jackson County schools will have new administrators when the school year starts in less than a month.
Both Fairview School and Smoky Mountain High School have new assistant principals, while the School of Alternatives has a new principal.
Carolyn Pannell was chosen to fill the vacancy at Fairview created when Nathan Frizzell left to serve as principal at Cullowhee Valley School.
Pannell is a 1979 graduate of Cullowhee High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1982, a master’s degree in elementary education in 1985, an education specialist’s degree in 1992 and a master’s degree in administration in 1996, all from Western Carolina University.
She taught for 20 years at Fairview and was assistant principal at Scotts Creek Elementary for three years.
“I really think this is a great opportunity for me,” she said. “There are lots of neat things you get to do as an administrator that you don’t get to do when you’re in the classroom.”
Pannell said she looks forward to working with parents, teachers and students.
SMHS’s new assistant principal, Joe Mills, is coming from Vero Beach, Fla., where he was born and raised.
Mills earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida in 1990 and a master’s degree in education leadership from Nova Southeastern University in 2000.
He has taught at several junior high and high schools in Florida, mostly as a teacher for exceptional children. For the last five years he has been assistant principal at Sebastian River High School in Sebastian, Fla. He also coached high school football.
Mills said he found the opening at SMHS while visiting his in-laws in Franklin.
“I really like the area. I told my wife I wanted to relocate there, so she told me to look for jobs,” Mills said. “I interviewed a few places, and Smoky Mountain was the place it worked out for me.”
Mills and his wife have three young daughters. Planning for their future is partly what drew them here, he said.
“The family values there are what I really like,” Mills said.
From what he’s seen, Mills said he also likes SMHS.
“It’s a great fit for me. I’m excited about getting started there,” he said. “I’ve talked to (Principal Alex) Bell and I can’t wait to start working with him and the administrative team. It seems like a pretty well-run school.”
Mills will start his new job next week.
The vacancy at SMHS was created by the departure of Jay Grissom, who is now the principal at the School of Alternatives. He replaces Exceptional Children’s Director Lynn Dillard, who for several years has done double-duty as principal of the alternative school.
School officials recently asked Dillard to return to the Central Office so she could focus on the county’s ECP program.
Grissom earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from The Citadel in 1990 and a master’s degree in school administration from N.C. State University in 2004.
A Henderson native, he taught in his hometown from 1990-2003. He has been an assistant principal at SMHS since 2003.
“I’m loving it so far; I’m really excited to be a part of this school,” said Grissom. “I’m looking forward to good things. I hope to adapt quickly.”
While he’s not going to be at SMHS on a daily basis anymore, he said he’ll continue to have ties to the school.
“I made a lot of great friends at the high school and I’ll miss them, but I’ll still be around,” he said.
The summer juggling of administrators is sometimes a necessary evil for schools, Superintendent Sue Nations said.
“This summer has not been wasted, we’ve been working hard to get ready for next year,” she said. “I feel wonderful about our new administrators. It’s bittersweet when you lose people and people have to move to other jobs, but it’s exciting to meet these new people and see people in new positions.”
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