The Habersham County Board of Education held a special called meeting Monday morning and appointed Dr. Adam Bagwell as Principal of Habersham Central High School (HCHS).
Bagwell will be filling the position vacated by Dr. Jonathan Stribling who recently announced his resignation after being appointed to White County School System’s Assistant School Superintendent position.
Bagwell is currently the principal at North Habersham Middle School.
Admirably qualified
School Superintendent Matthew Cooper made the recommendation to the board members stating “Dr. Adam Bagwell is “admirably qualified” to be the principal at Habersham Central High School.” He adds, “He comes highly recommended by a committee of 31 people.”
The school system received four applications for the position vacated by Stribling. According to Cooper, of the four candidates, three were external and one was internal. Of the four applicants, the committee interviewed three, two external applicants and the single internal applicant.
Cooper states that after the interviews were conducted, the committee scored each candidate on a scale of 1-10, with ten being to highly recommend. Bagwell scored a 9.6 with the external applicants averaging in the 6’s.
He told the board members that being principal at Habersham Central is a big job and is confident that Bagwell is ready for the task. Cooper shared with the board members a conversation that took place a few years ago. Bagwell had told him that “being principal at Habersham Central would be his dream job.”
The Habersham County Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Bagwell to the position of Habersham Central High School Principal.
Bagwell’s thoughts about appointment
After the appointment, Bagwell shared his thoughts about becoming Principal at HCHS.
“It’s a little bit surreal, very exciting, very humbled and appreciative of the trust that the Board of Education, Mr. Cooper, and the interview committee is putting in me for this position,” he said.
The incoming principal says following in Stribling’s shoes won’t be easy but says he has a good idea of how to go forward. Bagwell and Stribling were assistant principals together at Habersham Central for a year. After that year together, Bagwell remained assistant principal for two more years when Stribling was promoted to principal.
“We have very similar philosophies about education, particularly high school,” he says.
Bagwell graduated from Piedmont University in 2006 with his undergraduate degree. He immediately began teaching in the City of Commerce School System, where he taught and coached for eight years. He received his Masters in Education and Specialist Certification in 2010 and 2011 from Piedmont University.
In 2013, the Habersham County School System hired Bagwell as the Assistant Principal at South Habersham Middle School. He served in that position for two years. He was transferred as an Assistant Principal to Habersham Central for three years. Bagwell has served as the Principal at North Habersham Middle School for the last five years. During that time, he received his Education Doctorate from the University of Georgia.
One thing that will not change, he says that Fridays will continue to be “The day of the Raider!”
Stribling’s last day as principal at HCHS will be June 30. The Board of Education made no announcement as to who would replace Bagwell as Principal at North Habersham Middle School.
