When Davina Truitt got the call Tuesday night that she was a new assistant principal at Busbee-Corbett Elementary-Middle in Wagener, she burst into tears.
Truitt, a reading coach at East Aiken School of the Arts, attended Busbee Elementary and Corbett Middle and participated in the Teacher Cadet program at Wagener-Salley High her senior year.
"I decided right then and there that teaching was what I wanted to do, and not only did I want to teach, I eventually wanted to get my degree in administration so that I could come back home and serve my community. So, I'm going back home."
The Aiken County School Board also named three new principals, all who have local ties, at its meeting Tuesday. They are:
- John Metts, the assistant principal at Millbrook Elementary, who will become the school's principal
- Brad Watson, principal at Warrenville Elementary, who will move to the same position at Hammond Hill Elementary
- Patricia Wilson, the J.D. Lever Elementary School assistant principal, who has been named the new principal at North Augusta Elementary
Truitt was an instructional coach at East Aiken from 2012 to 2014. She taught fourth grade at Oakwood-Windsor Elementary from 2011 to 2012; fifth grade at Busbee Elementary from 2007 to 2011; and fourth grade at Mossy Creek Elementary from 2006 to 2007.
Born and reared in Jackson, Metts, who went to Redcliffe Elementary, Jackson Middle and Silver Bluff High has been assistant principal at Millbrook for two years.
"It's a great school," he said. "I want to continue what is already working."
Metts taught third and fifth grades at Hammond Hill Elementary from 2004 to 2005 and the same grades at Mossy Creek Elementary from 2005 to 2013. He came to Millbrook in 2013.
Although Watson graduated from Midland Valley High, he has close ties to North Augusta. "I've been a member of Grace United Methodist Church all my life," he said. "My mother served for several years as an assistant principal at North Augusta Middle School."
Watson said his goal as principal at Hammond Hill is to work to continue the school's success.
"Certainly, any time that you make a transition from one school to another, it's an honor," he said. "With the success Hammond Hill has had in the past, it means a lot to me personally to be tasked with continuing to sustain that success and continue to excel."
Watson is wrapping up his third year at Warrenville Elementary. He also taught for seven-and-a-half years at Leavelle McCampbell Middle and was an assistant principal for five years before making the transition to Warrenville.
Wilson's family moved to North Augusta in 1982, and except for four years away at school, she's lived there 33 years. "I'm proud of every year of it," she said.
Wilson said her "ultimate dream" has been to be an elementary school principal, and achieving her goal at North Augusta Elementary "does feel like coming home."
"It almost feels like this is kind of reaching the top of that mountain and seeing what's there," she said. "It's absolutely an amazing feeling."
Wilson was an assistant principal at Gloverville Elementary from 2013 to 2014 and at Oakwood-Windsor Elementary from 2011 to 2013. She taught third, fourth and fifth grades at Aiken Elementary from 2006 to 2011; second and third grades at Belvedere Elementary from 2003 to 2006; and fifth grade at Jefferson Elementary from 2001 to 2003.
An Aiken native, Larry Wood is a general assignment reporter.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
