Fort Smith, AR,  August 4, 2022 –  Fort Smith Public Schools has completed the following administrative hires and appointments since early July: Executive Director of Community and Business Partnerships, Construction Project Manager, Sunnymede Elementary School Principal, Elementary Assistant Principals, Middle School Assistant Principals and High School Assistant Principal.

Executive Director of Community and Business Partnerships
Zena Marshall will be taking on a new role to coordinate our community and business partnerships. Specific duties of this role include management of the Education Foundation, Partners in Education, new responsibilities include grant management/coordination, and campus/community outreach. 

Construction Project Manager
Joseph Velasquez has been named Construction Project Manager for the district. Velasquez currently serves as production manager at Risley Architects and has been in that role since 2008. Prior to serving as production manager at Risley Architects, he was a job captain/project manager at Ruhnau Clarke Architects in Riverside, CA for 4 years.  

Sunnymede Elementary Principal 
Dr. Joana King has been selected as the principal for Sunnymede Elementary School. Dr. King previously served as the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Grandview Public Schools in Grandview, MO. Prior to that assignment, she was an elementary school principal in Aurora, MO. 

Ballman/Bonneville Elementary Assistant Principal
Kristi Morris has been selected as assistant principal for Ballman and Bonneville Elementary Schools. Morris, who has most recently served as first-grade teacher at Sunnymede Elementary School, has been working with 1st and 2nd Grade students since 2008. She joined the FSPS education team in 2021.

Beard/Spradling Elementary Assistant Principal
Dana Brooks has been selected as assistant principal for Beard and Spradling Elementary Schools. Brooks has most recently served as a Technology Integration Specialist for the District. She has also served as a school library media specialist and classroom teacher since joining the FSPS education team in 2010.

Carnall/Howard Elementary Assistant Principal
Dexter Pendergraft has been selected as assistant principal for Carnall and Howard Elementary Schools. Pendergraft has most recently served as a physical education teacher at Sutton, Cavanaugh, Ballman, and Carnall Elementary Schools. He joined the FSPS education team in 2018.

Sutton Elementary Assistant Principal
Melissa Bridges has been selected as assistant principal for Sutton Elementary School. Bridges, who has been a part of the FSPS team since 2014, has worked at Trusty, Howard and Carnall. She has directed preschool programming in a previous district where she taught elementary school for a number of years. 

Kimmons Middle School Assistant Principal
Marian Kursh has been selected as the assistant principal at Kimmons Middle School. She has served as a special education teacher and coach in Jacksonville North Pulaski County School District since 2016. Ms. Kursh is a FSPS Northside graduate. Welcome home! 

Ramsey Middle School Assistant Principal
Grant Needham has been selected as the assistant principal at Ramsey Middle School. Mr. Needham has most recently served as a Health and Physical Education teacher at Belle Point Alternative Learning Center. He is an FSPS Southside graduate. 

Northside High School Assistant Principal
Dr. Jason Williamson has been selected as assistant principal for Northside High School. Williamson, who has most recently served as the assistant principal at Kimmons Middle School, joined the FSPS administrative team in 2020 when he returned to Fort Smith from Central Arkansas. He taught and coached at Ramsey and Kimmons Middle Schools from 2009 to 2013.

 

(previously posted)

July 11, 2022-Fort Smith Public Schools has made the following administrative hires:

Director of Federal Programs and Strategic Initiatives, Supervisor of Curriculum and Professional Development, Supervisor of Purchasing, Supervisor of Special Programs, Darby Middle School Principal, and Ramsey Middle School Principal.

Director of Federal Programs and Strategic Initiatives
Caroline Neel has been named Director of Federal Programs and Strategic Initiatives. Neel currently serves as Supervisor of Curriculum and Federal Programs and has been in that role since 2014. Prior to serving as Supervisor of Curriculum and Federal Programs, Mrs. Neel served as Title I/ACSIP Coordinator, Mathematics Coordinator, math teacher at Southside High School, math teacher at Pulaski County Special School District and math teacher at Arkoma School District in Arkoma, OK. She has been with the District for 29 years.

Supervisor of Curriculum and Professional Development
Dr. Katie Kreimer-Hall has been named Supervisor of Curriculum and Professional Development. Kreimer-Hall currently serves as principal of Darby Middle School and has been in that role since 2016. Prior to serving as principal at Darby, Dr. Kreimer-Hall served as an Assistant Principal at Sutton Elementary and Chaffin Junior High and as an elementary special education teacher. She has been with the District for 11 years.

Supervisor of Purchasing
Christopher "Craig" Tecmire has been named Supervisor of Purchasing. Tecmire currently serves as teacher and coach at Northside High School and has been in that role since 2021. Prior to serving at Northside, Mr. Tecmire was a teacher at Paris High School, Logistics Manager at Rheem Manufacturing, and retired from the U.S. Navy where he served as a Naval Supply Officer.

Supervisor of Special Programs
Krystle Smith has been named Supervisor of Special Programs. Smith currently serves as principal of Sunnymede Elementary School and has been in that role since 2003. Prior to serving as principal at Sunnymede, Mrs. Smith served as an assistant principal and teacher at Tilles Elementary. She has been with the District for 28 years.

Darby Middle School Principal 
Jason Meharg has been named as principal of Darby Middle School. Meharg currently serves as an assistant principal at Northside High School and has been in that role since 2021. Prior to serving as assistant principal at Northside, he was an assistant principal at Chaffin Junior High and a Senior Army Instructor for JROTC at Northside. He retired from the United States Army as a lieutenant colonel. He has been with the District for 8 years.

Ramsey Middle School Principal
Dr. Jennifer Prado has been named principal of Ramsey Middle School. Prado currently serves as an assistant principal at Ramsey and has been in that role since 2018. Prior to serving as assistant principal at Ramsey, Dr. Prado served as a math teacher and instructional facilitator in the Van Buren Public Schools. She has been with the District for 4 years.

---

(previously posted)

June 14, 2022- Fort Smith Public Schools has made the following administrative hires: Director of Special Education, Director of Recruitment and Retention, Assistant Director of Special Education, Beard Elementary Principal, Bonneville Elementary Principal, Carnall Elementary Principal, Cavanaugh Elementary Principal, Sutton Elementary Principal, Woods Elementary Principal, and Darby Assistant Principal 

Director of Recruitment and Retention

Dr. Amy Manley has been named Director of Recruitment and Retention. Dr. Manley currently serves as principal of Ramsey Middle School and has been in that role since 2016. Prior to serving as principal at Ramsey, Dr. Manley served as Darby Junior High Assistant Principal and Director of Bands at Kimmons Junior High. She has been with the District for 22 years. 

This is a new position funded entirely by Title IIA - Educator Recruitment and Retention. Dr. Manley will work with stakeholders to support and expand student achievement and success by aligning the district’s efforts to attract and retain highly skilled, highly talented educators who teach FSPS students. 

Director of Special Education

Domonique Alexander has been named Director of Special Education. Ms. Alexander currently serves as the Assistant Special Education Director at Pulaski County Special School District in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ms. Alexander previously served as Special Education Director at Jacksonville North Pulaski School District in Jacksonville, Arkansas, as well as in the Marshall County School District in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Assistant Director of Special Education

Dr. Taneka Tate has been named Assistant Director of Special Education. Dr. Tate currently serves as the principal of Carnall Elementary School and has been in that role since 2017. Prior to serving as principal at Carnall, Dr. Tate served as Assistant Principal at Park and Tilles elementary schools, Math and Literacy/Math Interventionist at Tilles Elementary, and teacher at Bonneville Elementary. She has been with the District for 16 years.

Beard Elementary Principal

Dana Rackley has been named principal of Beard Elementary School. Ms. Rackley currently serves as the assistant principal of Beard and Spradling elementary schools and has been in that role since 2018. Prior to serving as assistant principal at Beard and Spradling, Ms. Rackley served as an interventionist for the District. She has been with the District for 11 years.  

Bonneville Elementary Principal

Donna Jones has been named principal of Bonneville Elementary School. Ms. Jones currently serves as the assistant principal of Bonneville and Ballman elementary schools and has been in that role since 2021. Prior to serving as assistant principal at Bonneville and Ballman, Ms. Jones served as a Title 1 Elementary Specialist at Euper Lane Elementary School and a Lead First Grade and Kindergarten Teacher at Barling Elementary School. She has been with the District for 10 years. 

Carnall Elementary Principal

Jennie Mathews has been named principal of Carnall Elementary School. Ms. Mathews currently serves as the principal of Sutton Elementary School and has been in that role since 2011. Prior to serving as principal at Sutton, Ms. Mathews served as an assistant principal at Fairview and Tilles elementary schools. She has been with the District for 16 years. 

Cavanaugh Elementary Principal

Clint Gillman has been named principal of Cavanaugh Elementary School. Mr. Gillman currently serves as the assistant principal of Sutton Elementary School and has been in that role since 2019. Prior to serving as assistant principal at Sutton, Mr. Gillman served as a teacher at Northside High School. He has been with the District for 5 years.

Sutton Elementary Principal

JaimeAnn Hopton has been named principal of Sutton Elementary School. Ms. Hopton currently serves as principal of Gibson Elementary School in Woodland, California and has been in that role since 2019. Prior to serving as principal at Gibson, Ms. Hopton served as principal of Sunset Ranch Elementary School in Rocklin, California. She has 6 years of principal experience in California. 

Woods Elementary Principal 

Sharla Whitson has been named principal of Woods Elementary School. Ms. Whitson currently serves as principal of Bonneville Elementary and has been in that role for 13 years. Prior to serving as principal at Bonneville, Ms. Whitson served as an Assistant Principal at Sutton and Fairview elementary schools. She has been with the District for 25 years. 

Darby Assistant Principal

Emilee Moss has been named assistant principal at Darby Middle School. Ms. Moss currently serves as a Social Studies teacher and coach at Darby Middle School and has been in that role since 2016. Prior to serving as teacher and coach at Darby, Ms. Moss served Wichita High School West in Wichita, Kansas. 

---

May 26, 2022-Chris Carter has been named as the next Northside High School principal. Carter, who grew up in Fort Smith, attended Sunnymede Elementary, Kimmons Junior High School and graduated from Northside High School in 1990. He earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees from Henderson State University. 

Fort Smith Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Terry Morawski said, “We are excited to welcome Chris back to our district to assume this very important role. Northside High School has a long history of providing excellent opportunities for its students. In discussions with Mr. Carter, I believe he shares the district vision for high expectations for student success, building quality relationships with students and families, and a safe culture where students feel they belong and are supported.” 

Carter said, “Coming back to Fort Smith is a dream come true…..I absolutely love my hometown and my Alma Mater. Go Bears!!!”

Currently, he is the principal of Magnolia High School in Magnolia, AR. He has served in this role since 2016. Prior to this selection, he was the assistant principal at Northside and served as teacher, coach and assistant principal at Kimmons Junior High School (now Kimmons Middle School). Carter’s position will be included in the Professional Staff Recommendations for the School Board in June.