Many schools in Forsyth County recently welcomed new principals, but these were not permanent positions. It was part of the district’s 7th annual “Principal for a Day” event in which local business leaders are given a chance to run the school.
Dawn Wood, executive assistant for Martin Marietta, served as principal at Forsyth Central High School and spoke with 11Alive about the experience.
“One of my functions at Martin Marietta is community outreach, so I feel like this fits very well with that,” Wood said. “One of my goals is to figure out how we can maybe find people who are interested in being future employees for us, because we’re a good employer. We’d like to get our name out there in front of these kids and say, ‘Hey, come work for us.’”
Wood said she received an email inquiring about her interest in this program. She liked the idea and replied with her top three school choices. Within the district, workers narrowed it down.
“There have been some really great partnerships that have come from it,” Hannah Samples, communications facilitator for the district, said. “That’s really the goal - not only come together one day, but that this can be the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership.”
Much of Wood’s day was spent shadowing Mitch Young, the actual principal at Forsyth Central.
“The principals in our system love this,” Young said. “It really gives us a chance to show off our schools to folks that don’t normally get to get in and see a school.”
“He’s been great, very informative and friendly and just made me feel welcome. The entire staff has made me feel welcome,” Wood said.
“I expect at some point her political campaign will be launched from this. We’ve launched a lot of good leaders from their one day as a principal here,” Young said.