Administrators appointed at Albemarle’s Monticello, Burley and Jouett schools

written by Newspack Team | July 1, 2015

DATE:                  July 1, 2015
CONTACT:         Phil Giaramita, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Officer
PHONE:              434-972-4049

One Associate, Three Assistant Principals Appointed to Fill Leadership Positions at Monticello, Burley and Jouett

(ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Virginia) – Albemarle County Public Schools today announced the appointment of four associate and assistant principals, filling leadership positions at Monticello High School and at Burley and Jouett middle schools.

Two appointments were of internal candidates, Ashby Johnson, who is moving from Henley Middle School to Monticello, and Tireese Lewis, who is transferring from Albemarle High School to Burley. Reed Gillespie, formerly an assistant principal at Kettle Run High School in Fauquier County is Monticello’s new associate principal, and William Schaffer, most recently a Charlottesville City High School teacher, is the new assistant principal at Jouett..

The vacancies at Monticello were created by the promotions of associate principal Darah Bonham and assistant principal Dr. Beth Costa to be principals of Western Albemarle High School and Henley Middle School, respectively. Jouett’s former assistant principal, Peter Henning, accepted a position as a principal in Pennsylvania, and Burley’s assistant principal, Tracey Saxon, is on sabbatical.

“The programmatic strengths and experience of these four educators will deliver immediate benefits to Monticello, Burley and Jouett students,” said Dr. Clare Keiser, Assistant Director of Educator Quality, who headed up the search process for all four positions.

“We are fortunate to have had a deep applicant pool in making these appointments. That allowed us to choose both internally and externally experienced education leaders who will bring a broad range of skills to their school communities,” said Dr. Keiser.

Johnson was appointed assistant principal at Henley in 2013. She supervised instructional programs in Math, Language Arts, Physical and Special Education, Intervention, and the Library, in addition to the guidance and gifted programs. Prior to joining Henley, she was on the leadership team for the world renowned AVID college preparatory program at Jouett. She holds a BA from James Madison and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Mary Baldwin.

Lewis has served as an assistant principal at Albemarle High School since 2011. As an administrator in a comprehensive high school with 1,800 students, he developed a broad range of management experience, especially focusing on programs devoted to special education and to career and technical education. He earned his BA from Virginia State as well as two Master of Education degrees in Administration and Supervision and in Special Education. Prior to joining Albemarle, Lewis was an assistant principal for Dinwiddie High School from 2004-2011 and a teacher of technology at Henrico High School between 1995 and 2004.

Gillespie was an assistant principal at Kettle Run beginning in 2011, where he led the school’s professional development team, oversaw special education programs, and was responsible for crisis management and school improvement plans. A former social studies and English teacher, Gillespie began his career as an educator in 1994 at the Cedars Academy in Delaware before joining first Rappahannock County and then Fauquier County high schools. He received his BA from Wittenberg University and his Master’s in Educational Administration from Shenandoah University.

Schaffer joins Jouett with experience in Charlottesville City’s AVID program and service as its Summer School Principal in 2014. He has been a mentor to new teachers, worked to resolve teacher concerns with administrators and supported seniors and counselors in improving on-time graduation rates. Schaffer’s career in education began as a social studies teacher in 2008 with Charlottesville High School, where he also was a track and field coach.. Earlier, he was a non-commissioned officer in the U. S. Marine Corps. He received his BA from the University of Charleston in West Virginia and his Master’s Degree in Social Studies from the University of Virginia, as well as a Master’s of Science in Educational Leadership from Radford.

Keiser said three appointments will be made in the near future to fill remaining administrative vacancies in the division, which include assistant principals for Albemarle and Western Albemarle high schools and an assistant principal for Henley Middle School.

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