5 schools get new principals on Jan. 1

    Murphy – Five school principals said goodbyes to students and staff last week after one principal was assigned to a new position, causing other principals to move to different schools at the start of the new year.
    Alissa Cheek, principal of Tri-County Early College High School, will take on the role of district math intervention specialist as well as coordinator of school programming for new schools.
    Dr. Jeana Conley, superintendent of schools, said the math specialist position was needed as math scores statewide – not just in Cherokee County – have been dropping, and fewer math majors have been going into education. Cheek was a math major and has a specialist degree.
    “Often we are guilty of allowing a teacher with 30-plus years to retire without giving them the opportunity to share the knowledge they have,” Conley said. “All that wisdom walks right out the door.
    “With Alissa at 30 years, she is an excellent principal, but to be able to leverage her knowledge of curriculum – particularly math across the district with administrators and teachers – will be huge.”
    Cheek taught math and biology for 14 years at Hiwassee Dam High School. She worked on the grant that opened Tri-County Early College in 2006, then spent two years as a math teacher before taking over as principal when founding principal Sue Ledford retired.
    “I am so excited to move into my new position, and especially to get back into the math classroom,” Cheek said. “My goal is to help CCS math teachers learn from each other and work together to provide a powerful teaching and learning experience for all high school students in Cherokee County Schools.”
    As new schools coordinator, Cheek will be the lead person in the district working with contractors as the new Schools of Innovation is built in Peachtree. Conley said Cheek was involved since the early stages of the project and knows what’s needed to design the classrooms. She will also connect with businesses to make sure there is a career presence on campus.
    “We were already having to call her all the time to get answers for the architects, so it made sense to cut out the middleman,” Conley said.
    While the position is new, Conley said the rearrangement of Central Office positions with one becoming a principal makes the allotment of staff paid by the state the same. The position begins Jan. 1.
    As a result of Cheek leaving, Jason Forrister, principal of Murphy High School, will be leading the Early College as principal. Dr. Lisa Fletcher, principal of Andrews High School, will become principal at Murphy High. Lance Bristol, principal of Andrews Middle School, will become principal at Andrews High. And Chanda Bias will add principal of Andrews Middle to her duties as the district pre-kindergarten coordinator. All transfers are also effective Jan. 1.
    Bias has been working with Bristol as an administrator on site at Andrews Middle while performing her duties as pre-K coordinator. Because of COVID-19, her district role is not labor intensive at the moment, allowing her to add principal to her duties, Conley said.
    The biggest shift is Forrister, who not only will be going from the largest school in the district to one of the smallest, but will be leaving the school he has been at for most of his life.
    “I’ve got a lifelong relationship with Murphy High,” he said.
    As he was growing up, his uncle was principal at Murphy High. In 1991, Forrister entered the building as a student, then graduated in 1995. His first day as teacher was in Aug. 1999. He left the school for about 2.5 years for graduate studies, then came back in 2006 and has been there ever since.
    “I will miss it,” Forrister said. “I will miss the people. I think that’s just a given.”
    For the 2019-20 school year, Murphy High had a student body of 456, while the Early College had 145 students in a non-traditional setting. Forrister admitted it will be a transition moving to the school. He has communicated with Cheek, and they agree on the philosophy of focusing on the needs of students.
    “I want to go and learn with the folks that are at the Early College,” Forrister said.
    There’s something he plans to bring to the school.
    “I offer the students respect, fairness and encouragement,” Forrister said. “These gifts we can offer others are the most valuable.”
    Fletcher is returning to Murphy High, where she served as an assistant principal for several years before going to Andrews High five years ago.
    “It’s bittersweet,” Fletcher said. “I love Andrews, the faculty and the students here. I feel like family.”
    She emailed her seniors as soon as she could to share the news that she was leaving.
    “I felt the seniors needed to hear from me before hearing from somebody else,” Fletcher said.
    She said she’s looking forward to loving the students and faculty at Murphy.
    “I’m hoping I can see Murphy grow as I’ve seen Andrews grow,” Fletcher said.
    She said she and Bristol worked well together, and she thinks it will be a smooth transition for Andrews. Bristol worked at the high school before being named the middle school principal three years ago.