Congratulations to Ms. Edna Crews, Dr. Rick Courtright, and all of you who make our gifted program one of the best in the state. Atkinson has been the principal at Moore since 1993. She joined the school system in 1970 as a teacher at Old Town Elementary School. In addition to working as a teacher, she worked as the system's reading coordinator and the director of instructional services. She also has served as principal of the former Cook and Kennedy middle schools.
Regional winners advance to compete for state principal of the year.
Dempsey, new Exceptional Children's director, on board Sam Dempsey has joined the school system as the new director of Exceptional Children's Services. Dempsey has experience working at public and private schools and at the elementary, middle and high school levels. He served as the exceptional children's director with the Asheville City Schools. He has taught at Belmont College and Peabody College, and completed a doctoral program in public policy at Vanderbilt University. Through a Presbyterian missionary program, Dempsey worked to establish special education programs in India, China and South America.