New principal is prepared for role at Greenbrier
Margie Hamilton, who will take the reins of Greenbrier High School this coming school year, says the tutelage of her predecessor has prepared her well.
Margie Hamilton will be the new principal at Greenbrier High School. Before getting the job, Hamilton served as assistant principal to the school's former principal, Sandra Carraway.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Before her recent promotion to principal, Hamilton served as an assistant principal at Greenbrier High under Sandra Carraway, who recently accepted a position as a Columbia County assistant superintendent.
"Having shadowed Dr. Carraway I think was invaluable," Hamilton said. "I'm stepping into this role, but it's not all blind. I know the faculty. I know the strengths of the individual departments. I know some of our areas that need improvement. I know a number of the students and their families."
Before working at Greenbrier, Hamilton served two years as an assistant principal at North Harlem Elementary, nine years as an English teacher at Lakeside High School and two years as a teacher at Butler High School, her alma mater.
Hamilton's primary goal as principal is to continue Carraway's work on bettering teaching, she said.
"Something that I want to focus on, which Dr. Carraway was focusing on, is improving instruction - making sure that no matter what teacher a student has, the playing field is level," she said.
"We have a fantastic graduation exit exam rate, but it should be better," she said. "Every one of our students should pass that graduation test the first time. In order to do that, it has to come from instruction."
The 45-year-old wife and mother of two grown stepdaughters also wants to shift fan attention at athletic events off opposing teams and onto the Wolfpack players.
"I'd like to do away with anything inappropriate toward the other teams or their fans," she said. "I want it to be positive. I want them to cheer for our team and to focus on our players. We don't have to be fans at the expense of another team or their members."
Although taking over a high school with a projected enrollment of more than 1,800 students next year can be a little intimidating, Hamilton said she's ready.
"When you're managing 1,850 teenagers, there's an additional struggle to keep them safe and the logistics of moving them around," she said. "I know I'll have my challenges as a first-year principal in a big high school, but I'm looking forward to it."