Covington City Schools celebrated Principal Appreciation Week by recognizing the hard work and dedication of the principals at its three schools.
Former Gov. Ralph Northam recently signed a proclamation declaring Jan. 8-14 as Principal Appreciation Week in the Commonwealth.
“Principals serve as educational leaders, responsible for managing the policies, regulations, and procedures necessary to ensure a safe and effective learning environment for all students in Virginia’s public and private schools,” the governor’s proclamation says.
“Principals and teachers are entrusted with the opportunity and the responsibility of guiding, directing, nurturing, mentoring, and imparting knowledge to our children while they are at school,” the proclamation adds.
On Monday, Jan. 10, the Covington City School Board recognized its principals by presenting them with gifts of appreciation. The board met on Jan. 10 for its January business session.
“The leadership team in Covington City Public Schools is committed to the success of all students,” said Superintendent Melinda Snead-Johnson.
“Al administrative staff in the three schools and the central office are individuals who have invested much time in their respective roles coming from a variety of educational experiences. It is my privilege to work with them on a daily basis. Their support and hard work pre- and post-pandemic have been vital to our continued ability to provide an appropriate education for all students,” Ms. Snead-Johnson said.
The gifts were presented by School Board member Jay Woodson to Edgemont Primary School Principal Cindy Morgan, Covington High School Principal Derek Cantrell, and Jeter-Watson Intermediate School Principal designee Kit Staunton. Jeter-Watson Principal Rob Bennett and CHS Assistant Principal Chris Jones were also recognized by the board. They were not present to receive their gifts.
The board gave special recognition to Dr. Shannon Fuhrman, for her close work with Ms. Snead-Johnson. Dr. Fuhrman serves in the dual roles of director of technology and director of instruction for the school division.
Rob Bennett has served as principal at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School since 2014.
He was hired as a teacher at Covington High School after graduating from Virginia Tech in 1990. He taught at CHS until he was named principal at Jeter-Watson.
While at CHS, Rob coached several sports including boys and girls basketball, track, softball, and golf.
He holds a master’s degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg. He received the degree in 2007.
Rob and his wife, Cindy, have one daughter, Madison. Madison was the CHS Class of 2021 salutatorian. She is currently studying at Liberty University.
Derek Cantrell has served as principal of Covington High School since 2016.
Derek graduated from Ferrum College in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in education. He received a master’s degree in educational leadership from James Madison University in 2012.
Derek initially worked for Alleghany County Public Schools as a computer lab supervisor at Alleghany High School. In 2007, he was hired by Bath County schools to teach PE at Valley Elementary School. After a year at Valley, he rejoined Alleghany County schools and taught PE at Clifton Middle School, Mountain View Elementary, Falling Spring Elementary and Callaghan Elementary. He taught PE for eight years in Alleghany County schools until he was named CHS principal in 2016.
Derek was honored by the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism when he was named Alleghany County’s teacher of the year for 2012-2013. That year, he was also named teacher of the year at Falling Spring Elementary School.
In 2007, he was named the Pioneer District’s coach of the year for baseball. Most recently, he was recognized in 2016 by Sling-N-Score Product published in Gopher Sports Magazine
Dr. Shannon Fuhrman has been employed by Covington City Schools for 26 years.
She has held several positions for the school division, starting as a teacher at Covington High School. At CHS, she taught math and computer science, and SAT math preparation.
She also served as junior class sponsor and coached varsity volley, varsity track, and JV softball.
After being promoted to administration, Shannon was an assistant principal at CHS, while also serving as athletic director and division math specialist.
After serving a short time as interim principal at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School, Dr. Fuhrman was named principal at Covington High School. She was later transferred to the central office, where she serves as the division’s director of instruction and director of technology.
Shannon received her undergraduate and post-graduate degrees from the University of Virginia.
She is married to Rick Fuhrman. Rick retired after a long career with Covington City Schools. He served as a teacher, coach and guidance counselor before moving to administration. He was serving as principal at CHS when he retired.
Chris Jones has 24 years of experience in public education. For the past six years, he has been in school administration at Covington High School, serving as assistant principal and athletic director. He assumed the athletic director duties at the start of the current academic year.
Chris has 18 years of teaching experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Concord University in Athens, W.Va., and a master’s degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
Chris is also the head varsity football coach at CHS. He has 20 years of coaching experience. His teams have won eight district championships, three regional championships, and two state championships. One of his teams was state runner-up.
In 2001, he was named National High School Coach of the Year.
Cindy Morgan has worked in public education since 1997. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher with the Rockingham County Consolidated School System in Eden, N.C.
In 1998, she was hired to teach first grade at Boiling Spring Elementary School in Alleghany County. She later taught second grade at Boiling Spring. Cindy transferred to Callaghan Elementary School in 2004. During her time at Callaghan, she taught fourth and fifth-grade language arts, fifth-grade language arts and math, kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade.
Cindy taught at Callaghan until she was named as a shared assistant principal at Mountain View Elementary School and Clifton Middle School in 2011. She became assistant principal at Mountain View in 2013 and served in that role until was named principal of Edgemont Primary School in 2016.
Cindy graduated from Concord University in 1997 and she earned a master’s degree from the University of Virginia in 2008. She received an endorsement in K-12 administration and supervision from James Madison University in 2010.
Cindy is married to Dean Morgan, who works as a senior management planner for American Airlines. Her daughter, Grayson Siers, is a 10th grader at Covington High School.
Kit Staunton is currently serving as the principal designee at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School.
He has worked for Covington City Schools for 38 years, teaching for 19 years, and serving as a school counselor for 19 years. He taught in Grades 5-8. He is the school counselor at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School. In addition, he serves as director of testing and the visiting teacher for the school division.
Kit earned his undergraduate degree from Concord University and he holds a master’s degree from Radford University.
Photo: Covington City School Board member Jay Woodson recognizes Edgemont Primary School Principal Cindy Morgan on Monday, Jan. 10. (Photo Credit: Jerry Clark/Alleghany Journal)
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