Gwendolyn Wheeler The Clarke County Board of Education recently approved the hiring of Stuart Etheredge as the new principal at Jackson Middle School and Gwendolyn Wheeler to take over as principal at Jackson Intermediate School.

Both educators said, this week, that they are excited about continuing the tradition of providing a quality education to Jackson students.

Etheredge's appointment as JMS principal came during the June 25 meeting of the Clarke County Board of Education. During a special meeting, June 5, of the board, Etheredge was initially rejected, despite the recommendation of Clarke County Superintendent of Schools Woodie Pugh Jr.

Barry Chancey, T.L. Douglas and Clarence Hawkins were the only board members present for the meeting. Hawkins and Douglas voted against Etheredge's appointment, while Chancey voted for it. Wheeler was approved as JIS principal during that meeting.

Douglas and Hawkins were absent from the June 25 meeting. Board members Chancey, Charlie Anderson and Marty Parker constituted a quorum and voted unanimously to hire Etheredge for the job.

Stewart Etheredge Etheredge, who has been serving as assistant principal at the school, said Tuesday, "I am honored to be chosen as principal. I thank Superintendent Woodie Pugh Jr. and the Clarke County Board of Education for recommending and selecting me for the position. Mr. Jessie Taylor has done a fabulous job at JMS and I will have some big shoes to fill. I don't plan on coming in and changing the world because what Mr. Taylor has done doesn't need modifying. I hope to continue to improve upon what Mr. Taylor began."

A 1995 graduate of Leroy High School, Etheredge went on to attend college at Troy State University where he earned a double bachelor's degree in physical education and health. He then earned a master's degree in education administration from the University of West Alabama.

Etheredge was hired as a teacher at Jackson Middle School in 2001. He taught for one year then took on the responsibility of serving as an administrative assistant during his second year after Rance Carr retired unexpectantly. He was eventually named assistant principal.

Besides teaching and handling the administrative duties at JMS, Etheredge has also served as a coach in baseball, football and basketball. He has also been the Player Agent for Little League at North Jackson Park for the last seven years.

Unfortunately, he will give all that up when he takes over as the new principal due to the time required to do a thorough job.

His good rapport with children and the enjoyment he receives from working with the public is what Etheredge said drew him to education. "I really enjoy the public relations portion of the job and giving back to the community through providing a quality education to tomorrow's leaders."

As principal, Etheredge said his goal is to continue to offer a sound education to students and to provide them with the skills needed to be sucessful at the high school level. "Our goal has always been to provide a high quality education to students to enable them to become productive citizens in society," he said. "It has also been our goal to learn the unique learning styles of the students and capitalize on that learning style, because not every child learns things the same way.

"I also look forward to continuing to work with the students, parents, faculty, staff and stakeholders of this community," he continued. "I give all the credit to God for blessing me with the skills and opportunities needed in order to make this possible."

Wheeler brings the same positive attitude to JIS. She has served as assistant principal at Joe M. Gillmore Elementary School for three years. For four years prior to that she taught special education at JIS.

A graduate of Jackson High School, Wheeler earned her associate's degree at Selma University, then went on to earn a bachelor's and master's in education from the University of South Alabama. She began her career in education as a library assistant at Jackson Middle School.

It was an experience she had as an assistant librarian that made her want to become an educator and make a difference in children's lives. She recalled an instance when a child came into the library and she could tell the child was uncomfortable being there. "I helped her choose a book and noticed how captivated she was when I read it to her. I asked her to read a portion of it and that is when I realized she couldn't read. That experience touched my heart and I decided I wanted to do something that would make a difference in some child's life."

Wheeler said she now feels she is making that difference. She said a saying she once heard has been her philosophy throughout her career as an educator: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - author unknown.

"My love for children also made me want to be an educator," explained Wheeler. "I believe you need to get to know a child as an individual before you know them as a student."

She went on to say that as JIS principal her goal will be to promote excellence in all students. "I believe that every student can learn if taught. It's up to the educators to make that happen. I hope to continue the mission of JIS which is to empower student learning without boundaries or limitations on thinking."

Wheeler said she wants to build involvement with parents, students and teachers. "We should all be part of a team in developing the whole child," she said.

As for her being chosen as the new JIS principal, Wheeler said, "I was happily surprised and honored. I thank Superintendent Pugh and the board for having the confidence in me for this position."