Wayne County Public Schools

The Wayne County Board of Education recently approved the following administrative changes at its regular meeting:

Eastern Wayne High assistant principal, Christopher Chase, was named principal of Spring Creek High. He is replacing Jagtar Singh, who was named the Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) Director of Middle Grades Instruction this past December.

"I have been very impressed with Mr. Chase as a school administrator,” states Dr. Marc Whichard, WCPS Superintendent.  "He is caring, has a demonstrated work ethic, and is willing to roll up his sleeves alongside his staff to help students be successful and have a positive experience - all key qualities for a school principal. Moving forward, we look forward to supporting him and the Spring Creek High staff in their collective efforts to build upon the school's continued high level of academic achievement."

Mr. Chase began his education career as a middle school English/Social Studies teacher with Lenoir County Schools in 2000. Since that time he has served as an AIG teacher with Pitt County Schools, a middle school English/Social Studies teacher with Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS), and a high school English teacher with Lenoir County Schools. Mr. Chase transitioned to school administration in 2022 as assistant principal of Eastern Wayne High. Mr. Chase holds a bachelor’s degree in literature education and a master’s degree in school administration.

Two district-level departmental changes were approved: Director of Maintenance, Dean Bridgers, was named Executive Director of Facility Services. Mr. Bridgers has been an active member of the WCPS Maintenance Department since 2002 and has served in his current position since 2021. Human Resources Licensure & Recruitment Manager, Cassie Barnes, was named Human Resources Director of Licensure & Personnel Support. Ms. Barnes has been an active member of the WCPS Human Resources Department since 2012 and has served in her current position since 2021.

"Mr. Bridgers and Ms. Barnes bring with them the necessary qualities and experience to effectively lead in their respective areas," adds Dr. Whichard. "We look forward to the benefits of these departmental changes, as these moves were strategically designed to maximize departmental operations, increase the quality of support for our teachers and staff, and provide all of our schools an even higher level of customer service."  

In addition to the principal and departmental changes, the following assistant principal (AP) changes were made: Eastern Wayne High teacher, William Lee, was named AP for the school. Grantham Middle AP, Monique Wilson-Thomas, was named the AP for Grantham Middle/Mount Olive. North Drive Elementary AP, Laurie Keck, was named AP for Greenwood Middle/Rosewood Middle. Mount Olive Middle AP, Stacey Davis-Smith, was named AP for Eastern Wayne Elementary. Dillard Middle AP, Parker King, was named the AP for North Drive Elementary. Greenwood AP, Trammonnieo Cooper, was named AP for Dillard Middle. Wayne School of Engineering AP, Harold Barnes Jr, was named AP for Wayne Middle/High Academy. 

All of the changes will take effect immediately.