Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson announced Thursday the appointment of Brad Boykin, Ed.D., as the new principal of Mill Creek Elementary School, effective July 1.

Boykin, a 17-year veteran educator who has served Bulloch County Schools since 2014, is currently the assistant superintendent of business services for the district. 

According to a release from the school district, “the transition is part of both a strategic restructuring of Central Office personnel and an effort to fill an administrator vacancy at the school.”

"I’m excited to work with students and have a more direct impact on their learning," Boykin said. "It’s why I became an educator."

Two weeks ago, new principals were named at Southeast Bulloch High – Nate Pennington, Ed.D., coming from Portal Elementary; Portal Elementary – Kelly Spence, the school district’s current executive director of Academic Support, will be the new principal; Langston Chapel Middle – Coming from Dublin City Schools, Reginald Cordy will be the new principal. 

The appointment marks a homecoming for Boykin, whose said his passion for education began at the very school he will now lead. During the 2003-2004 school year, while a senior at Statesboro High, Boykin served as a student teacher apprentice at Mill Creek Elementary as part of SHS's Early Childhood Education career pathway.

"I believe I am returning to my roots," Boykin said. "You can’t have a bad day when you are serving children."

Boykin’s professional background includes both classroom and leadership experience. He taught elementary school for nine years and previously served as an assistant principal and later principal of Southeast Bulloch Middle School before becoming an assistant superintendent.

A "quadruple-Eagle," Boykin earned his undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Georgia Southern University, then returned to complete his master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees in education.

Boykin has met with the Mill Creek Elementary faculty to discuss the transition. He will succeed current principal Jennifer Wade, who has announced her resignation, which becomes effective June 30.