School board votes 4-1 to hire new administrator

During a special called meeting and budget workshop last Thursday, the Grady County Board of Education voted 4-1 to hire a new assistant principal at Eastside Elementary School.
Board member Scott Higginbotham cast the lone nay vote on Superintendent Dr. Tommy Pharis’ recommendation to hire Chiquila Wright as the new assistant principal at Eastside.
Eastside Principal Shelia Cain recommended Ms. Wright’s hiring after working with an interview committee at the school to interview applicants for the post.
Current Eastside Elementary School Assistant Principal Gary Keve has been recruited by new Southside Elementary School Principal Lateesha Clinton to come to work as assistant principal there.
Keve has served as assistant principal at Eastside for the past three school years and, prior to that, was an assistant principal at Washington Middle School.
Ms. Wright comes to Grady County from Thomas County where she was the administrator of the Pathways Educational Program at the Thomasville Center for students in public school with severe emotional disorders or autism.
Prior to being named administrator, she served for many years as a school social worker. She is certified in crisis management and behavior management and is experienced in working with children with emotional and behavioral disorders, autism and abused children.
According to the Thomas County Board of Education website, she earned a bachelor’s degree in social work at Florida State University and a master’s degree in social work at Valdosta State University. She has also earned an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from Liberty University.
She and her husband, Roger, are both natives of Bainbridge, and are the parents of one daughter.