The Clarke County School District announced in a Feb. 18 press release that five elementary school principals will change positons ahead of the 2024-25 school year. J.J. Harris Elementary School, Howard B. Stroud Elementary School, Fowler Drive Elementary School, Barnett Shoals Elementary School and Gaines Elementary School are the five schools that will experience turnover. “My time leading Gaines Elementary School has truly been a blessing to me and my family. The work was hard but the progress we made is something I am truly proud of,” GSES Principal Dr. Luther McDaniel, who will join the Clarke Central High School administration as an assistant principal, said. Photo from the ODYSSEY Media Group archives
Five CCSD elementary school principals will change schools at the start of the 2025-26 school year.
Hiring season in the Clarke County School District has begun with a shuffling of elementary school principals.
The district announced the changes in a Feb. 18 press release, which involves five CCSD elementary school principals moving into new roles at different CCSD schools. Despite the changes, only one principal vacancy will open as a result, with four principals moving laterally across the district.
To kick off the merry-go-round, J.J. Harris Elementary School Principal Dr. Beverly Harper will become the new principal of Howard B. Stroud Elementary School, current HBSES Principal Dr. Stacie Carson will move to Fowler Drive Elementary School as its new principal and current Fowler Drive Principal Pamela Garcia will take over at JJHES.
“These transfers are being initiated after a great deal of thought as to the needs of each school in pursuit of our vision to be a high-performing school district that ensures all students can access opportunities and positively contribute to their communities,” CCSD Superintendent Dr. Robbie P. Hooker stated in the press release.
The other two changes occur at Barnett Shoals Elementary School and Gaines Elementary School. Current BSES Principal Aliceson Nobles will become the new principal at GES, whose principal Dr. Luther McDaniel will join the Clarke Central High School administrative team as an assistant principal in the only non-lateral switch.
“Returning to the high school level will be a huge change for me but I’m excited about the challenge,” McDaniel said. “Several of my former students from Whitehead Road are currently students at Clarke Central, so I will enter the door with some strong relationships already established.”
“These transfers are being initiated after a great deal of thought as to the needs of each school in pursuit of our vision to be a high-performing school district that ensures all students can access opportunities and positively contribute to their communities,”
— Dr. Robbie P. Hooker,
CCSD Superintendent
The only school left without a principal as a result of the changes is BSES, leaving the school’s Local School Governance Team to choose McDaniel’s successor. As for the other schools, Hooker is confident the new placements will allow the district to grow.
“Each of these leaders has been part of our district for many years, and I look forward to the work they will do with their new school assignments,” Hooker stated in the press release.
