More than half a dozen schools in Nash and Edgecombe counties will start the next school year with new principals, in part due to a demerger that will be finalized prior to the fall semester.
Nash County Public Schools on Monday announced changes that will take effect in July at Bailey, Nashville, Winstead Avenue and Edwards elementary schools.
“July 1 marks a new chapter for Nash County Public Schools,” Superintendent Steve Ellis said in a prepared statement. “We are confident that these appointments will greatly benefit our schools and communities. Each leader brings a unique vision and dedicated commitment to excellence that will drive our district as we continue to grow forward together.”
Bailey Elementary’s new principal will be Quintin Mangano. A former finalist for the school district’s Principal of the Year award, Mangano currently leads Nashville Elementary.
Replacing Manago as principal of Nashville Elementary will be Darsheka “Tiffany” Hopkins, also a former Principal of the Year finalist. She is current principal of D.S. Johnson Elementary, which will become part of Edgecombe County Public Schools beginning next school year, along with Fairview, Baskerville and J.W. Parker schools.
Current Bailey Elementary School Principal Allen Michael Wilson will be the new principal of Edwards Elementary School, which is replacing Edwards Middle as part of the attendance changes associated with demerger. Wilson was a finalist for 2024-25 Principal of the Year.
Edwards Middle’s current principal, Vanessa Love, will become principal of Winstead Avenue Elementary School, which is becoming a K-5 school beginning in August.
Williford Elementary Principal Kelvin Shackleford will continue as principal when Williford becomes a pre-kindergarten center next school year. Shackleford also will serve as principal of Nash Everywhere Digital Academy.
Replacing Hopkins at D.S. Johnson will be Lindsay Lee, who is currently an assistant principal at Fairview Elementary.
Charis Saunders, current assistant principal at Rocky Mount High School, will serve as principal of J.W. Parker Middle School. She was a finalist for 2024-25 Assistant Principal of the Year with Nash County Public Schools.
Brandan Lucas, current assistant principal at M.B. Hubbard Elementary School will serve as principal of Baskerville Elementary School.
Cynthia Gorham will continue to serve as principal of Fairview Elementary.
Nash County Public Schools is expecting a decrease in the student population of about 1,200 students once the demerger with Edgecombe County Public Schools is finalized. Students living on the Edgecombe County side of Rocky Mount will be transferred to schools in the Edgecombe County Public Schools system as part of the upcoming demerger.
Four school campuses will also become part of the Edgecombe County Public Schools system in August once the joint agreement between both school districts to educate Rocky Mount students is formally dissolved.
Last month, at a joint meeting of Edgecombe County commissioners and school board members of the Edgecombe County Public Schools system, the school district’s superintendent Dr. Andy Bryan said that principals had been hired at each campus and that 60 percent of the certified instructional staff had been hired in preparation for the influx of students.
“All of the new principals are excited about the future,” he said.
Bryan told commissioners in April that the school system will grow from a current 5,145 student population to an estimated 6,376 students on the heels of the planned demerger.
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