At their Monday night committee of the whole meeting, the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education approved the appointment of six new principals. The new principals will fill vacancies at Cloverleaf Elementary School, Lake Norman Elementary School, Northview I.B.O. World School, Statesville High School, West Iredell Middle School, and Woodland Heights Elementary School.
Alisha Cloer will take over as principal of Cloverleaf Elementary School beginning July 1. Cloer currently serves as the principal of Hiddenite Elementary School in Alexander County, a role she has held since 2004. Before that, she was the school’s assistant principal. Cloer began her career in education in Iredell-Statesville Schools, doing her student teaching at South Iredell High School and teaching business at Statesville High School before serving a short stint in Mooresville Graded Schools. Cloer holds a master’s degree from UNC-Charlotte, and completed her educational specialist degree at Appalachian State University. She is currently working toward a doctoral degree in educational leadership at Gardner-Webb University. Cloer is filling a vacancy left by former Cloverleaf principal Andy Trotter, who now serves as the executive director of the district’s Prime Time for Kids program.
Current Coddle Creek Elementary School assistant principal Mark Shinkaruk was approved as the new principal of Lake Norman Elementary School. Shinkaruk has served as the assistant principal at Coddle Creek since 2009. Prior to that, he was a mentor teacher, school improvement team member, peer evaluator, and professional learning community leader at Troutman Middle School. While at Troutman, Shinkaruk’s 7th-grade science classroom served as a ‘demo classroom’ for the Iredell-Statesville Continuous Improvement Model. Shinkaruk holds a master’s degree in school administration from UNC-Charlotte. A graduate of Statesville High School, Shinkaruk will take over at Lake Norman Elementary on July 1 following the retirement of current principal Roberta Ellis.
Tim Ivey’s interim stint as the principal of Northview I.B.O. World School became permanent last night. Ivey was appointed as the interim principal earlier this spring. Prior to joining Northview, Ivey served as an assistant principal and freshman academy director at South Iredell High School. He also spent 10 years in the classroom as an English teacher at West Iredell High School. In addition to his duties as the principal of Northview, Ivey will also continue as the district’s focused learning communities grant director, the position he held prior to filling in at Northview in an interim capacity.
Garriot Rose has been selected as the new principal of Statesville High School, effective July 1. Rose is currently the principal of Northeast Guilford High School. Prior to that, he served as the principal of The Academy at High Point Central. With more than 15 years in public education, he has also worked as an assistant principal and science teacher. Rose holds a master’s degree in school administration from UNC-Greensboro, and is currently enrolled in the doctoral program there. Rose takes over at Statesville High School for interim principal Teddy Millsaps.
The board of education also approved Dr. Lucille Asbury as the new principal of West Iredell Middle School. Asbury currently works as an assistant principal at Celeste Henkel Elementary School. She has also served as an elementary general education teacher in Burke County Schools, as well as a Title I teacher in Pinellas County, Florida. Asbury received her doctorate in doctoral leadership from Gardner-Webb University, where she also earned her master’s in school administration. She takes over West Iredell Middle School following the resignation of principal Garry Moore.
The sixth principal appointment is the promotion of Brian Mills at Woodland Heights Elementary School. Mills currently serves as the school’s assistant principal, a role he has filled since 2008. Prior to that, he was also an assistant principal at South Iredell High School, Lakeshore Elementary School, and West Iredell High School. He began his teaching career in Rowan-Salisbury Schools, teaching physics, algebra, and other math courses at Salisbury High School. Mills holds a master’s degree in school administration from UNC-Charlotte. He will be taking over the duties as principal on July 1, when principal Ethan Todd takes over as the executive director of human resources for the district.
“We are excited about the future of these six schools,” said Superintendent Brady Johnson. “I think we have selected six top-notch candidates who are ready to move these schools forward in a positive direction. They are each enthusiastic and ready to roll up their sleeves and get started.”
Candidates were each interviewed by a panel of school representatives, including parents and staff members. The finalists interviewed with the superintendent and members of his executive team.
“We had a great pool of candidates to choose from. More than 70 people applied for these positions,” said Johnson. “We’re thrilled to have that many individuals interested in serving in our district. These decisions were not easy to make, and I appreciate all the time and careful consideration our interview committees put into making the best decisions for each of these schools.”
