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May 22, 2009

District announces staff changes

Durrett to serve as high school principal, Wetchensky to admin

From staff reports

Athens school officials on Friday announced several changes to its 2009-2010 organizational structure.

“Our district’s goal is to ensure our students are achieving academic success,” AISD Superintendent Dr. Fred Hayes said. “We must prepare our students to be college- and work-ready. The organizational structure is crucial for the district to continue moving forward.”

The changes include the appointment of Keith Durrett — the former varsity girls basketball coach — to principal of Athens High School. He replaces Michael Wetchensky, who has been appointed as Coordinator of District Alternative Learning and Compulsory Attendance.

Two assistant principals have also been named for the high school. George Hull, formerly principal at Malakoff Middle School, will take one of the posts, while Gerald Anthony will take the other. Anthony comes to Athens from Tyler ISD, where he served as an administrator, teacher and head boys basketball coach.

All new appointments go into effect June 1. Others were as follows:

• Jackie Cunningham will serve as Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction. She was previously Director of Elementary Education. Her focus will be the implementation of the district’s curriculum, which aims to provide a clear direction for principals and teachers of how to implement the curriculum as well as effective instructional strategies.

• Karen McAtee has been appointed as Director of Staff Development. Previously she served as Director of Secondary Education. She will continue her role in the PINNACLE early college high school program. She will also manage the district’s data as it relates to student/campus success rates. To ensure teachers and principals are receiving the necessary resources, the district must have real-time data to monitor student success, Hayes said.

• Meg Johns has been named the Response to Intervention and Teacher Mentor Specialist. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal government’s stimulus bill to promote job creation, will fund this new position. Prior to Johns new appointment, she served as the Associate Principal at Athens High School for the past three years. In this new position, Johns will develop clear intervention processes to address students’ needs immediately based upon their academic performance as well as assist new teachers in implementing intervention strategies to help students.

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