Clarke Central High School Assistant Principal Everett “Barten” Nealy sits in his office on Sept. 18. Nealy worked outside of CCHS for the majority of his career as an educator and believes that this time greatly benefited him. I learned that you have to be dogmatic. Not everybody’s gonna see things the way you see things. You have to be able to understand where they’re seeing from,” Nealy said. “That’s a good lesson for life, whether you’re teaching or working in anything, because the way I view something’s gonna be different than yours.” Photo by Ciyana Ramos
CCHS Assistant Principal Everett “Barten” Nealy came to CCHS in 2017 with the goal of helping students and has spread his influence through his various positions.
Thirty-five years ago, a star football player sat in a high school classroom, bored out of his mind and unable to pay attention. Today, this former struggling student works as an educator, helping students like himself to succeed.
In fact, these struggles were what motivated Clarke Central High School Assistant Principal Everett “Barten” Nealy to go into education.
“School was horrible for me. It was boring. I wasn’t a very good student. I didn’t feel like I was getting more than sports,” Nealy said. “I knew there were a lot of students who struggled, and I was really interested in (helping) students who have learning disabilities and other emotional issues.”
Nealy graduated in 1993 from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia with a major in emotional behavior disorders and learning disabilities and a minor in psychology. Nealy’s educational background gave him the expertise to work with special education students, an area that Nealy has focused on for the majority of his career.
“Why people do what they do has always fascinated me and behavior is nothing more than communication,” Nealy said. “Therefore, people are acting a certain way because (they’re) telling you something, and I’ve always been fascinated with what they’re trying to tell me.”
“Why people do what they do has always fascinated me and behavior is nothing more than communication. Therefore, people are acting a certain way because (they’re) telling you something, and I’ve always been fascinated with what they’re trying to tell me.”
— Barton Nealy,
Assistant Principal
Throughout his extensive career, Nealy has worked in a wide variety of positions, including stints as a coach, behavior specialist and now as an administrator— but no matter the position, his focus has always been on helping students.
“I love that age group, (teenagers), because that’s the age you see them go from a kid to adult and it’s amazing to see the difference in you when you become a senior,” Nealy said.
Nealy’s first job as an educator was at the now-closed Rutland Academy in Athens from 2000 to 2007, then Athens Academy from 2008 to 2017 where he worked with now-CCHS math department teacher Neal Michael Gunn. Nealy first met Gunn during his time as a student and football player in Redwood High School in Atlanta where Gunn was his teacher and football coach.
“(Nealy is) a great teacher and a good motivator, and his kids liked playing for him (as a football coach). That was all important,” Gunn said.
After leaving Athens Academy, Nealy became a special education teacher and football coach at CCHS. Since arriving, Nealy has worked to improve the behavioral climate and overall atmosphere of the school through his work as an educator and administrator.
“I love seeing where we’ve come since I started here in 2017. If you would’ve seen the climate in 2017, you didn’t feel safe walking around the halls,” Nealy said. “It was crazy, (there were) tons more fights, (there were) fights every day in the bus loop and all that kind of changed.”
Part of Nealy’s approach to improving the school’s behavior climate is his philosophy of connecting with students and developing a deeper relationship with them.
“Being open minded to what they have to say, listening to what they have to say,” Nealy said. “I really listen because a lot of people I deal with are angry in the moment, so I’m gonna ignore that (anger). My overall philosophy is, no matter what my emotional state is, I stay level.”
Clarke Central High School Assistant Principal Everett “Barten” Nealy sits in Room 231 on Aug. 29 during the ODYSSEY Media Group’s Fall Press Conference. Nealy had an overall positive experience at CCHS since arriving in 2017, largely due to the atmosphere and people surrounding him. “I love the (administrative) team we work with (and) the teachers I work with. I love the students. I love seeing where we’ve come since I started here in 2017,” Nealy said. “I’m very familiar with Athens (and its) people, so I like the fact that we have a very diverse student body. We have a fairly diverse faculty and I love the fact that the school is improving.” Photo by Aza Khan
CCHS Support Specialist Michele Burch began working with Nealy in the special education department, and in her years working with Nealy, Burch has noticed how much Nealy’s ability to connect with people has helped him as an educator.
“He’s just so genuine. He’s even tempered (and) very, very creative as far as problem solving, I think he’s pretty quick with that,” Burch said.
After two years at CCHS, Nealy transitioned to an administrative role as the behavior specialist. CCHS senior Cam’ron Bell began working with Nealy during his sophomore year and feels like Nealy’s influence has positively impacted him as a student.
“I’m not in the bathrooms all the time. I’m not in the hallways all the time like I used to. I’m not getting in trouble all the time like I used to. I really appreciate Mr. Nealy,” Bell said.
“I’m not in the bathrooms all the time. I’m not in the hallways all the time like I used to. I’m not getting in trouble all the time like I used to. I really appreciate Mr. Nealy.”
— Cam’ron Bell,
CCHS senior
After two years of working as a behavior specialist, Nealy was promoted to Assistant Principal, a position where according to Nealy, he and the administrative team have made strides to make their leadership felt around the school.
“Our (approach to fixing the school) really is just, ‘Hey, let’s be more visible. Hey, let’s be more consistent with the rules.’ Like Dr. Hooker says at the end of the day, it’s all about the kids,” Nealy said. “I think as an administrative team, we’ve taken that approach to trying to make it that way. We’re trying to really fix all these behavior issues so we can spend more time working with teachers on teaching developments, making classrooms more engaging.”
Nealy’s fromer fellow administrator, former CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Cindi Lowe, feels like his attitude towards his job has been of great assistance in working towards making the school a better place.
“Mr. Nealy, he looks out for all of his students,” Lowe said. “One of the things that we (administrators) talked about is that he is a person that if you call him on the radio, he’s not going to ask what you need. He’ll come to you, so I appreciate that a whole lot about him.”
