Posted 1:55 am Friday, June 08, 2012
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District Announces Executive Changes
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
West Rusk County Consolidated ISD can expect various administrative changes when the new school year begins.
Elementary Principal Gwen Gilliam is reassigned to a newly created districtwide director position, which includes the coordination of all district testing, director of special programs, such as special education, dealing with the district accountability rating and documentation and assisting the secondary principals with teacher walkthroughs.
Michelle Cline, a districtwide academic administrator, will assume the duties of elementary principal grades prekindergarten to second grade, and Secondary Assistant Principal Lawrence Coleman will assume the duties of a districtwide academic administrator, which includes being in charge of human resources.
The changes, which take effect June 25, were made Tuesday after an administrators' meeting.
Superintendent Tommy Ale-xander said he's been thinking about reassignments off and on for about a year.
"What I had in mind, it matched up with each one of their gifts, their skills, their talents, their background and history in it," he said. "If you're on the outside looking in, it looks like a lot of moving around, and it is, especially for a school that size, but every one of them fit as far as each one of those positions are concerned."
Alexander said the fact the school district was rated academically unacceptable last year by the Texas Education Agency also factored into the changes.
He said they were made in part to give the district a better chance to meet the needs of students and have them be successful, and the employees involved all fit into that goal.
"We're just trying to fine tune the details of each of those positions. ... There will be people who probably think 'You made those decisions solely based on scores,' but that is not the truth. Granted, that has an impact, (but) for me it was a greater reason or justification for (the fact that) each had qualifications to meet the positions," Alexander said.
The reassignments mean that the district will have to hire a new secondary assistant principal, according to a news release.
Alexander said a former longtime district employee already has expressed interest, and the district will consider applications within the next 10 to 14 days.
