CORDOVA — Joyce McRae, former principal at Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy, will now be the principal at Cordova Middle School.
McRae said she has come “full circle” due to the transfer.
“I began my career at Cordova Elementary School as a teacher assistant in 1998,” she exclaimed. “All of my past educational experiences have been in elementary or high school. This experience will allow me to understand a child’s educational journey from kindergarten through graduation!”
McRae was also a third-grade teacher at Fairview Heights and Richmond Primary for three years and then one year as a first grade teacher at Richmond Primary. She went on to receive her Reading Recovery Certification and taught first grade math, science and social studies for half a day and the other half of the day was spent on Reading Recovery at Richmond Primary.
McRae spent the next three years teaching first grade at Richmond Primary and Monroe Avenue before becoming an academic coach for two years at Monroe Avenue. McRae was then selected to participate in the Sandhills Leadership Academy to obtain her Principal Licensure where she interned under Keith McKenzie for one year at East Rockingham Elementary School.
After her internship, McRae was an assistant principal at Richmond Senior High School for one year, a principal at Fairview Heights Elementary for five years and principal at the Ninth Grade Academy for one year.
McRae said Cordova will be one of three schools she has previously worked at that she is returning to as principal – the others being Fairview Heights and Ninth Grade Academy (which was Richmond Primary).
“Ninth Grade Academy will always hold a special place in my heart,” she said. “The faculty and staff members are wonderful people who understand that relationships are the key to earning student success.”
Now, she’s looking forward to working with parents, staff members and community stakeholders to help students at Cordova Middle have a smooth transition from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school.
“Some students have a difficult time transitioning to the high school setting due to rigorous course requirements and attendance expectations,” she said. “My goals is to help students and families understand the importance of student accountability at the middle school level to help ease their transition to high school.”
