The Bulloch County Board of Education approved Torian White as the new principal of Southeast Bulloch Middle School at Thursday’s board meeting.
White currently serves as the principal of Conyers Middle School, a position he has held for two years. He will begin his duties here July 1, after the retirement of current SEBMS interim Principal Milton Williams.
“I am excited about joining the outstanding learning community at Southeast Bulloch Middle,” White said in an email statement Friday morning. “I look forward to building new relationships while enjoying the support of my family nearby.”
A native of Effingham County, White has spent his entire 10-year career in education thus far in Rockdale County, where he has served in various teaching and leadership positions. Promoted to principal of Conyers Middle in 2012, he previously served as a district-level instructional coach for middle school mathematics and as a high school graduation coach; as a Georgia Department of Education mathematics trainer and curriculum consultant and as an assistant principal at two high schools, Rockdale Open Campus and Salem.
White began his career at Salem High in 2003 as a math teacher. After four years there, his peers selected him as Teacher of the Year. He was identified as one of 36 Emerging Leaders by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, an international professional development organization, in 2011. White is also a 2013 graduate of Leadership Rockdale, sponsored by the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce.
White’s Bulloch County appointment comes after a two-month nationwide search that resulted in 35 applicants. The interview panel, made up of three SEBMS teachers and three central office administrators, narrowed the pool to four candidates based on qualifications and the school’s identified needs.
The panel then screened the four candidates and designed interview questions on input from Southeast Bulloch Middle School’s faculty. Teachers had indicated that they wanted their new principal to be a strong student disciplinarian, have experience teaching middle grades and an understanding of the middle grades concept, have excellent staff and community communication skills, and be organized.
From the interviews, the panel selected two finalists, who were interviewed a second time by Superintendent Charles Wilson. He also conducted background checks on the finalists.
“We are building a system of excellence which includes our leadership team,” Wilson said. “Mr. White is a dynamic young leader, and we are excited to welcome him to Bulloch County.”
Board of Education members held a closed session to discuss personnel recommendations at the end of Thursday evening’s regular meeting. They reopened the meeting to vote, and the vote that approved White’s hiring was unanimous.
In a statement issued by White after the board’s decision, he said that his chief priorities will be first to build sustainable relationships and support excellence in teaching and learning.
“In collaboration with the SEBMS assistant principal, faculty, staff, students, parents and community partners, I am confident that we will continue to support student learning,” he added.
White is a graduate of South Effingham High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree from Troy State University and a specialist’s degree from Cambridge College. He will receive his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Mercer University in August.
Relocating to Bulloch County will be a homecoming for his wife, Tasheina (Canty) White, a 1996 graduate of Statesboro High School. Their two sons, Tyler and Trenton, will be in first grade and kindergarten next year.
Current SEBMS Principal Milton Williams served as interim principal this school year after former SEBMS principal Donna Clifton was transferred to neighboring Southeast Bulloch High. Williams has served Bulloch County Schools for 20 years, seven of those as Southeast Bulloch Middle School’s assistant principal.
This is one of five principal changes for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year which begins August 1. Dr. Karen Doty of Langston Chapel Elementary will transfer to Portal Middle High, Dr. Shawn Haralson will transfer from Portal Middle High to Langston Chapel Elementary, Julie Blackmar will move from Nevils to Julia P. Bryant Elementary, and Nate Pennington will move from Julia P. Bryant to Nevils.
Hayley G. Greene, who supplied this report, is the public relations and marketing specialist for the Bulloch County Board of Education.