By: Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis
Alexander County Schools is excited to announce shifts in leadership at four local schools. The district welcomes familiar leaders to three elementary schools and to one middle school position. Andy Palmer will be the new leader at Taylorsville Elementary. Katie Nash will take the reins at Ellendale Elementary. Nash’s exit from West Alexander Middle School opens the door for Alexander Central High School Assistant Principal Ashley Mayo to become the lead administrator with the Bulldogs. Palmer’s farewell to Stony Point will be followed with the hiring of Jessica Mundy, an AP at West Alexander.
The principal positions came open when Taylorsville principal Janel Lingle announced her retirement after serving seven years as principal. Ellendale has had an interim after the March departure of the school’s principal.
Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Hefner says she’s already seen the work the leaders are capable of doing.
“Certainly because they’ve already been members of the administrative team in Alexander County that they’ve proven themselves, and I’m just excited to see the job they will do in their new positions,” Hefner offers. She adds, “There are growth opportunities for everyone in the new positions, the new placements, but I’m just excited to watch them continue to grow.”
Each of the four will begin their new positions on July 1st.
West Alexander Middle School
West Alexander Middle School is known by the North Carolina Association for Middle Level Education (NCMLE) as one of the “Schools to Watch” for their advocacy for the middle school concept. Ashley Mayo plans to begin her work there right away.
“The first and most important thing for me is getting there and building relationships. Getting to know the students and staff to determine what I can do to better support their work,” says Mayo.
Mayo adds, “It’s a great school. I’m excited to go in and pick up and continue the work they’ve been doing.”
According to the state report card, WAMS was one of the schools in the state that exceeded growth based on standardized testing from 2021-2022.
Mayo started her career in 2011 as a science teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and then in Caldwell County. She’s been with ACHS since December of 2020.
Mrs. Mayo has her bachelor’s degree in Biology from UNC Charlotte, a master’s degree in Biology from the University of West Alabama. She received her graduate certificate in School Leadership from Appalachian State University.
In addition to her classroom experience, Mrs. Mayo has written science curriculum, developed virtual courses, and has taught virtual science classes. She has participated in various school leadership roles throughout her career and was named the NC District 7 Outstanding Science Teacher in 2020.
She expects her high school background to be a bonus at the middle school level.
“I hope my experience in high school will help to better prepare those students for when they get to high school, knowing where they are going,” she says.
Mrs. Mayo lives in Hudson with her husband, Jeff and their daughter. They are also expecting a boy in October.
Ellendale Elementary
West Alexander Middle School principal Katelyn Nash will take the helm at Ellendale, home to 205 kindergarteners through fifth graders. Nash is finishing her first year as principal with the Bulldogs. She says an elementary school fits well for her because of where she’s at right now with her family.
Nash says, “My first-grader will be with me there at the school.” She continues, “I’m excited to be a parent but also be an administrator in that building as well.” Nash says she’s already built relationships with families during her time at West and is ready to work with the Ellendale community.
“I think they need a leader who is going to love on them but still carry on the high expectations that I tried to carry on at West while I was there,” she explains.
Nash began working with the district in 2018 as assistant principal at West. She is a former high school math teacher with a master’s degree in Executive Leadership from Gardner-Webb University.
Nash taught math at West Iredell High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in Education from Appalachian State University. She prides herself on analyzing data, management and communication.
Nash and her husband, Chesley, have a six-year-old daughter and five-month-old son and live in Statesville.
Taylorsville Elementary
Principal Andy Palmer moves to the center of the county to lead Taylorsville Elementary after completing nine years as principal at Stony Point Elementary. Stony Point met growth on standardized tests in 2021-2022.
Palmer has experience working with high needs schools. The free and reduced lunch rate at Stony Point is 70.6 percent and at Taylorsville, 71.5 percent. To qualify for free lunch a family of four would need to earn less than $51,000 a year. Taylorsville is home to 224 students.
Palmer follows Janel Lingle at Taylorsville and says, “She’s done a great job there” and “I look forward to continuing that.”
Palmer started work in the district as a sixth-grade math teacher at Bethlehem and West Alexander Middle. He has also worked as assistant principal at WAMS and served as the interim principal at Ellendale before taking the helm at Stony Point in 2014.
Palmer moved early in his career from Ohio after studying elementary education at Marietta College.
Palmer’s wife, Bridget, works as a teacher at WAMS and the couple has two sons.
Stony Point Elementary
Jessica Mundy will take the helm at Stony Point Elementary, a school of 185 kindergarteners through fifth graders. Mundy has spent one year as an assistant principal at WAMS, three years as an instructional coach, and nine years as a teacher at Sugar Loaf Elementary. She holds a National Board Certification in Middle Childhood and her Masters and Bachelors degrees from Appalachian State University.
She looks forward to working in what she describes as a tight-knit community. “I think with my elementary background I will be able to be an instructional leader. I also think with my personality I’ll be able to connect and build relationships with the families in the Stony Point community” she adds.
She realizes the work ahead for a new principal. “Of course there are nerves. I look forward to learning from the other principals in the county. I know that’s a close knit group and learning the roles of a principal and how to be an effective principal,” she says.
This school year Mundy completed the Alexander County Aspiring Leaders program that the district sponsored. She lives in Stony Point.
Each of the new placements was approved by members in closed session during the June 13th school board meeting.