BY STEVEN STIEFEL
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Lee County Schools Superintendent Mike Howard said he plans to recommend interim Teresa Phillips as principal of the county’s Pre-K program at the Board of Education’s next meeting on May 13.
“She chose to join me and [Early Learning Director] Lisa Harris in this effort, and she’s excited — we’re excited,” Howard said following discussion at the school board’s April 15 meeting. “I can’t wait to see what they do.”
Phillips was previously on administrative leave from her position as principal at South Smiths Station Elementary School. She was not terminated, Howard confirmed. The school remains under investigation for noncompliance with approved curriculum materials, an issue that has persisted for several months.
Amy Long is currently serving as interim principal at South Smiths. Howard said the district will officially post Phillips’ new position before opening the South Smiths vacancy.
“We’ll conduct interviews, and the board will approve a hire,” Howard said. “That’s why Ms. Phillips is listed as interim for now. My intent is to make it a simple transfer, because she wants to be in that role. As soon as I post her new position, I can post the vacancy at South Smiths. Then we’ll follow the same process.”
Howard declined to comment on details of the investigation that led to Phillips being placed on paid administrative leave, citing personnel privacy.
“I can’t speak to the specifics because of privacy rights, but she’s excited about this new opportunity,” he said. “She’s going to be fantastic in the pre-K principal role.”
Howard also promoted the district’s expanding Pre-K program, encouraging parents to enroll age-appropriate children. Documents for proof of residency must show the parent or guardian’s name and current street address. Learn more at www.lee.k12.al.us/enrollment.
“We currently have 14 pre-K classes, including special education and first-class Pre-K,” he said. “We’ve submitted grant applications to add two more. We’re waiting on the state legislature to pass the Education Trust Fund budget. Once that happens, the state will let us know which grants we’ve been awarded.”
The classroom grants would fund items like furniture and startup costs for new classrooms.
“We’re in a holding pattern, but we expect to receive several grants,” Howard said. “We already have enough students to fill at least 26 classrooms.”
Howard said the program’s rapid growth created the need for additional management, which Phillips will provide as principal.
“Through this process, we realized very quickly that Dr. Harris can’t do this by herself,” he said. “Grants and working with the state department and everything needed on that end —we’ve got a big task ahead of us in hiring a lot of staff members to be in each one of these Pre-Ks, because we’re doubling the size of our Pre-Ks across the county. That means a lot more staff members. Ms. Phillips and Dr. Harris are going to make a great team.
“I’m asking everybody to make sure they’re reaching out to as many people in the community as they can, because our goal is that no student that wants Pre-K is going to be on the waiting list,” Howard added. “Right now, we’re expecting a little around 400 students. Hopefully, it just continues to grow, honestly. We won’t stop at 30. If we can host 40, we’ll be good. As long as we have the space for it, we’ll keep doing the program.”
“We’re excited because this is something new and unique in our county,” Harris said. “Every child who applies will be accepted. It’s an exciting time for Lee County. I’m honored to lead the program, and I believe it will become the best in the state. Stay tuned and help us spread the word — if families haven’t applied yet, they should.”