The Attala County School District has tapped Greenlee Elementary School Principal Culley Newman to take the helm of Ethel High School.
Superintendent Bryan Weaver said one of the other candidates for the high school post is now under consideration for the Greenlee principalship.
“I’m hoping to provide some stability at Ethel since there has been some turnover,” said Newman about his new role. Newman and his family reside in Ethel, and his wife is an Ethel native.
“The overarching goal is to be one of the best high schools in the state,” he said of his plans for the high school. “In order for that to happen, we have to look at education as deeper than just testing. We need to grow our students into young mena and women.”
Asked what his key accomplishments have been at Greenlee, Newman took little credit, but expressed pride in the progress made.
“I took a D-rated school and now we’re four or five points away from being an A-rated school,” he said. “But I didn’t really do that. It is the teachers who did that.”
Newman said he sees the role of principal — regardless of grade level — as one of support.
“It is my job to encourage and support, and to remind the teachers why they got into education in the first place,” he said.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity and I’m looking forward to having great parent support, just like I do at Greenlee,” he said. “If parents have concerns, I really want them to come see me at the school.”
Although Newman has been the principal at the elementary level for the past five years, he brings upper-grade certification and experience to his new role.
Newman graduated from French Camp Academy before earning his B.A. in Biology Secondary Education and his Master’s in Educational Leadership/School Administration from Mississippi State University.
Earlier in his career, he taught at French Camp Academy, Wauconda High School in Illinois and Ethel High School before moving into adminstration positions.
He has served as assistant principal at South Leake High School, principal at Edinburg Attendance Center and principal at Greenlee Elementary in addition to being a teacher coach with the Bailey Education Group.
