SILER CITY — Chatham Charter School has hired a new secondary grades administrator as part of its next phase of growth, the school said in a news release last week.
Tom Griffin, an educator with 35 years of experience, will join the Chatham Charter administrative team in January. He’s worked as a teacher, principal, district head of Exceptional Children services and as a state level administrator.
“I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life and joining the team here at Chatham Charter,” Griffin said.
Chatham Charter will replicate its academic program through a new charter school, Central Carolina Academy, which will open next August in Lee County.
Beth McCullough, the school’s current executive director of secondary programs & communications, said her communications role will continue for Chatham Charter and expand to include the new Central Carolina Academy.
Chatham Charter, located in Siler City, is a K-12 public charter school founded as a private K-8 school in 1993 and chartered in 1996. The school has nearly 600 students. The new Lee County school will replicate Chatham Charter’s middle and high school programming.
“I’ll also have a leadership role with the Career and College Promise partnership that our upperclassmen participate in,” McCullough said. “We’re all excited about this new opportunity.”
Griffin, along with the school’s elementary administrator, Etta Foushee, will lead Chatham Charter at the building level.
McCullough will move into a role on a central services team to work with both Chatham Charter and Central Carolina Academy. McCullough, Julia-Brent Milholen and Chatham Charter Head of School John Eldridge will form the central services team, the school’s release said, that will allow the building-level administrators to “concentrate more fully on traditional school administration responsibilities versus balancing district level duties along with school level ones.”
“Our administrative team quickly recognized the expertise that Tom can bring to Chatham Charter, particularly in the areas of Exceptional Children services and students who struggle with non-academic issues,” Eldridge said. “We have been focusing on these challenging areas already and are pleased that an educator of Tom’s caliber will be able to bring added insight and leadership.”