DeKalb County School District (DCSD) Interim Superintendent Dr. Vasanne Tinsley today announced the addition of seven new principals in DeKalb County elementary, middle and high schools.
“We are proud to welcome seven new leaders into the vitally important position of school CEO,” said Dr. Tinsley. “We know that schools with talented and effective leadership have better student outcomes, and the appointments we’ve made of highly qualified leaders are consistent with our mission of Keeping Students First.”
The new principals are:
Sharon Evans — Miller Grove Middle School
Ms. Evans, a graduate of Norfolk State University, has been an educator for 25 years. Her career in DCSD began as a math teacher at Stephenson High School, where she served eight years before transitioning to assistant principal of the school’s 9th Grade Academy. In 2007, she continued her career at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School, where she served in multiple roles, including the 9th Grade Academy’s assistant principal. While at King High School, she helped to increase King High School’s CCRPI (College and Career Performance Index) score by nine points over a three-year period, which resulted in the school being removed from Georgia’s Focus List. In 2019, she moved to Cedar Grove High School, where she served in multiple roles, including assistant principal for instruction, before becoming the new principal at Miller Grove Middle.
Milton Hall — Elizabeth Andrews High School
Mr. Hall is a veteran school leader with a corporate and educational background. His educational experience began as a Mathematics teacher, and his dedication to student academic achievement led him to serve as an accomplished assistant principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels for more than 18 years. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University, earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Albany State University, and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in education from Nova Southeastern University.
LaTanya Rohan — Flat Rock Elementary School
Before joining the DeKalb County School District, Ms. Rohan recently served as the Coordinator of Interventions in Henry County Schools. She served as an elementary assistant principal for four years in Atlanta Public Schools and served as a district-level Content Specialist in Atlanta Public Schools. As an assistant principal in Atlanta Public Schools, she helped reduce the number of students missing school and improved instructional outcomes for all students by ensuring all subgroups met their achievement targets. She began her education career in Fulton County. She received her bachelor’s degree in middle grades education from Clayton State University and her master’s and specialist degrees in educational leadership from Georgia College and State University.
Dr. Deborah Satterfield — Tucker Middle School
Dr. Satterfield has been in education for more than 30 years. She served as a counselor and assistant principal at Fernbank Elementary School for many years. During her tenure at Fernbank Elementary, she collaborated with teachers to utilize data and created purposeful instruction through the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework, resulting in Fernbank Elementary obtaining its highest CCRPI score of 95.5. She later served as principal of Midvale Elementary, where the school’s CCRPI score increased from 63.3 to 80.6, and the school was recognized as one of the state’s Title I schools, making the most progress in improving students’ performance. She is excited and eager to bring her skills as an educational leader to Tucker Middle School.
Dr. Damienne Denham Shabazz — Salem Middle School
Dr. Shabazz brings a wealth of educational experience and knowledge to the Salem Middle School community. She has dedicated the past 16 years of her career to developing and supporting curriculum programs to elevate scholar academic achievement and stakeholder engagement. She spent most of her career at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, where she served in multiple roles, including teacher and assistant principal. She created stakeholder engagement opportunities for the King High School cluster, such as the Title I Science Symposium, and co-coordinated the DSCD Family Engagement MALES Conference. Through collaborating with colleagues in the science community, she co-authored the first Georgia Department of Education Curriculum for Forensic Science. She has also provided science instructional resources to the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at Clemson University and as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow in Evolutionary Genetics at Emory University. She is no stranger to the Salem community and is dedicated to fostering a growth mindset and increasing the achievements of all its members.
Marcus Searcy — Columbia Middle School
A proud product of DCSD, Mr. Searcy comes to Columbia Middle with 24 years of experience. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Talladega College, master’s degree from Troy State University, and an education specialist degree in educational leadership from Troy University. He began his career in DCSD as a paraprofessional and was later hired as an English teacher at Avondale High School. After teaching for eight years, he became an assistant principal at Chamblee Charter High School. He later served as assistant principal at Columbia High School. He has supported all students by working with teachers and school leaders to develop/identify instructional strategies to improve achievement using formative and summative assessment data.
Carlton Vivians —Shadow Rock Center
Mr. Vivians is the new director of Shadow Rock Center. He has been with the district for 21 years, serving as a paraprofessional, teacher, department chair, and lead teacher for special education. He has served at Eagle Woods Academy, Arabia Mountain High School, Elizabeth Andrews High School, DeKalb Early College Academy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School. He was awarded paraprofessional of the year for two consecutive years. He has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Rust College, a master’s in education from Walden University, and a specialist degree with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction from Cambridge College.