2 schools will have new principals

Two of Dorchester District 4's five schools will have new principals next year.

Bernard Utsey, who has been assistant principal at Woodland High School for the past three years, has stepped up to the high school's top post. At St. George Middle School, Scott Thompson, former assistant principal at Laurens District 55 High School in Laurens, has taken the reins.

Utsey, who also previously worked as a guidance counselor at Woodland, said his knowledge of the district, the school and its students will give him an edge. "I was already embedded in the school and had first-hand knowledge of our strength and weaknesses."

The rural high school with about 650 students has recently improved its discipline and the overall climate, he said.

Now, he said, school leaders need to communicate high academic expectations to students. And students and teachers must be more accountable for student academic success, he added.

His biggest challenge, he said, is "the buy-in factor" for faculty members. Everybody must be "aligned with the same vision and expectations."

Thompson has moved to the area recently from the Laurens County School District 55.

"It's been a while since I've been the new kid on the block," he said. But he's looking forward to the job.

The middle school's previous principal, Gwendolyn Bright, who's taken a job in the district office as director of accountability, laid the groundwork for the state Department of Education's "Making Middle Grades Work" program, he said.

The comprehensive improvement and reform program has clear goals, Thompson said, and he and his staff will begin working toward them at the start of the school year.

Goals of the middle-grades program include getting students to read more, improving test scores and increasing academic rigor.

The school's staff already has "bought into the program," he said. "It's all about academic improvement, using things that have been proven to work."

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.