Photo by Kalissa Everett
How long have you been in the area?
“I am originally from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, and I lived there for quite some time. I grew up there, went to college at the University of Maryland, at College Park, and then found my future wife.”
“We moved to Tampa, Florida, because she was in the military. I lived in Texas as well, and then moved back to Maryland for a little bit, and then I moved to Charlotte in 2009”
“I am new to Durham. I still have a lot of my things in Charlotte. My sons are still there, I’m just in the middle of transitioning.”
How long have you worked in education?
“This is a little over my 18th year. I started off as a teacher in alternative education in Texas, and then I was a social studies and AP Psychology teacher in Maryland for five years. When we moved to Charlotte, I was a social studies teacher for two years, and then became a dean of students, administrator, school administrator, and then an assistant principal.”
What made you want to work in education?
“I’ve always been passionate, even in college, about tutoring and mentoring young people. I’ve always just had this passion for helping them find their gifts and realizing their passions.“
Where did you work before joining Riverside administration?
“Before I worked here, I worked in CMS, Charlotte Mecklenburg schools. I was there for 12 years, and then I decided to take care of some family, so I took some time off, and now I’m here in Durham Public Schools.”
How did you end up here in the middle of the year?
“After everything was settled with, my family, I had to find a way to get back in and realize my passions and my dreams. So I did some research, found Riverside High School, and here I am.”
Are you overseeing specific students by their last name?
“For now, my alphabet would be from A through E.”
What’s your first impression of RHS?
“I like my first impression of Riverside. Even when I came to interview it was like, ‘The students are nice, very respectful, very welcoming. The staff are very nice and very welcoming.’ So if there’s anything I have to say about Riverside, I believe, whether it’s staff or students, [there are] some great people and great personalities here.”
Is there anything that you hope to accomplish during the first couple weeks on the job or long term?
“I’m just looking forward to helping Dr. Woods-Weeks take Riverside to the next level, help Riverside be the best school that it can be. I’m looking forward to being a part of the [administration] team, working closely with everyone and getting to know great students, as well as getting to know the staff.”
Will you be taking over Bradshaw’s roles, such as restorative practices?
“Yes, I will. I believe I will be taking on a lot of the same roles as Assistant Principal Bradshaw did.“
Will you also be involved in the school’s infrastructure and maintenance?
“Yes, I will be. I’m in a process now, transitioning, trying to get acclimated, trying to get used to things. But yes, I will be over facilities and infrastructure. “
Was taking those roles the reason you came to Riverside?
“It wasn’t necessarily about the role or the duties. It was just about being a part of a wonderful school. I read some things about Dr Woods-Weeks and did a little research. It attracted me to Riverside, so that’s why I’m here.”
What does your role as an assistant principal here entail?
“Just executing the vision of Dr Woods-Weeks, but also getting to know everyone, individually, and trying to support students and staff to the best of my ability. I will be supporting the science department and supporting the social studies department as well, so I’m looking forward to that.”
When we were doing our background research, we saw that you were a principal at Rocky River High School. The Charlotte Observer reported on a couple of different incidents in 2022 and 2023: an inappropriate teacher-student relationship and a student getting shot off campus. The articles also suggested that your resignation might have been linked to those incidents. Would you like to provide any additional context about that?
“I will say that [the resignation] was not related to the incidents. Of course, I can’t speak about personal issues there. But we had some rough situations. We dealt with it appropriately, as you can see, but I just made a decision and I had to focus on family. Family came first”
Those must have been tough experiences as a principal. Do you feel like that changes your perspective and what you bring to Riverside?
“There were some tough and challenging times. As a principal, assistant principal, or any school leader, you don’t ever want to encounter situations like that. They were difficult times, and we did the best that we could to support the family.”
“We did a lot [to support] the students and staff as well, because a lot of them were close to that situation, and we just had to do our best to support them emotionally, socially, and just help the family out and respect their wishes as it related to that situation.”
What’s the difference between being a principal and AP?
“The difference is that we serve as assistant principals to support the vision of the principal. So as a principal, a lot of times you set the vision, you set the mission and the tone, and you are the individual who at the end of the day has the last word.”
“In terms of decisions as an assistant principal, in my role now, that is to serve, and that is to support Dr Woods-Week’s vision and mission to the best of my ability.”
What similarities and differences do you see between CMS & DPS?
“I see a lot of similarities in Riverside in relation to previous schools that I served. Every school has its great things going on, and they also have their challenges.”
“At Riverside, I think you have great programs here. You have great students here who want to do the right thing, but we also have some areas that we need to work on, but that’s every school. That’s no different than [any other] school.”
