Administrative Announcements for January 2024
January 5, 2024
The following administrative appointments were announced on January 27, 2024.
St. Bethlehem Early Learning Center
Principal
Maribeth Mathis has been selected as the principal of the St. Bethlehem Early Learning Center. She will begin this role in February 2024 to support the transition of the school to CMCSS’ new hub-and-spoke Pre-K model, beginning the 2024-2025 school year. Mathis has served as the principal of Burt Elementary School since 2017, and she has 21 years of school administrator experience in CMCSS. She began her career in public education in 1996 with a certification in Pre-K-3 and has taught kindergarten, second grade, and served as a Title I Reading Specialist. Mathis currently serves as a Leadership Coach for the Aspiring Assistant Principal Network at Austin Peay State University. She is a graduate of the CMCSS Aspiring Administrators Academy and completed the Tennessee Assistant Principal Academy and the Tennessee Principal Academy. Additionally, she has completed trainings at the Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation, Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies, and McREL Balanced Leadership for Administrators. Mathis earned her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University and her B.A. in Early Childhood Learning and Development at Murray State University.
Assistant Principal
Brian Belt will continue serving at St. Bethlehem as an assistant principal and will be a key leader in the transition of the facility to an Early Learning Center. Belt has served as an assistant principal at St. Bethlehem Elementary School for the past 18 years. He began his career in CMCSS in 1995 as a teacher at Kenwood Elementary School and has ten years of teaching experience and 19 years of school administrator experience. He has served in numerous school-level leadership roles, including Grade-Level Chair, 504 Coordinator, STEM Coordinator, and Safety Coordinator. Belt is a graduate of the CMCSS Aspiring Administrators Academy and the Tennessee Assistant Principal Academy and he completed McREL Balanced Leadership for Administrators. He was awarded the Green Apple Award at Kenwood Elementary. Belt earned his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University and B.S. in Elementary Education from Murray State University.
Assistant Principal
Dr. Rachel Funderburk has been selected as an assistant principal at the St. Bethlehem Early Learning Center, beginning the 2024-2025 school year. She will serve as a key leader for Developmental Pre-K and special populations services. Dr. Funderburk has served as an assistant principal at Burt Elementary School since 2022. Additionally, she has served as an adjunct professor of education at Austin Peay State University, teaching courses in special education, teaching, and school leadership. Dr. Funderburk began her career in CMCSS in 2014, and has served as a Primary Modified Teacher, Resource Teacher, and Special Populations Elementary Consulting Teacher. She has served in numerous school, district, and university-level leadership roles, including as a mentor in APSU’s President’s Emerging Leaders Program, a Site-Based Induction Specialist, Support Team Chair, and Lead Special Education Teacher, and she has presented at several professional conferences. Dr. Funderburk is a graduate of the CMCSS Aspiring Administrators Academy, and she completed trainings in Cognitive Coaching at the Center for Literacy Education and Employment and the University of Tennessee and McREL Balanced Leadership for Administrators. She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Ed.S. in Elementary Reading Education, M.A.Ed. in Special Education Curriculum and Instruction, and B.S. in Special Education from Austin Peay State University.
Burt Elementary School
Interim Principal
Dr. Rachel Funderburk will serve as the Interim Principal of Burt Elementary School, beginning in February 2024. Dr. Funderburk has served as an assistant principal at Burt Elementary School since 2022. Additionally, she has served as an adjunct professor of education at Austin Peay State University, teaching courses in special education, teaching, and school leadership. Dr. Funderburk began her career in CMCSS in 2014, and has served as a Primary Modified Teacher, Resource Teacher, and Special Populations Elementary Consulting Teacher. She has served in numerous school, district, and university-level leadership roles, including as a mentor in APSU’s President’s Emerging Leaders Program, a Site-Based Induction Specialist, Support Team Chair, and Lead Special Education Teacher, and she has presented at several professional conferences. Dr. Funderburk is a graduate of the CMCSS Aspiring Administrators Academy, and she completed trainings in Cognitive Coaching at the Center for Literacy Education and Employment and the University of Tennessee and McREL Balanced Leadership for Administrators. She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Ed.S. in Elementary Reading Education, M.A.Ed. in Special Education Curriculum and Instruction, and B.S. in Special Education from Austin Peay State University.
Interim Assistant Principal
Renee Keesler will serve as the Interim Assistant Principal at Burt Elementary School, beginning in February 2024. She has served as the Academic Coach at Burt Elementary since 2018. Previously, she taught for over a decade at the kindergarten, third-grade, and fifth-grade levels at Barkers Mill Elementary. Additionally, she has served as the Summer Learning Camp administrator at Minglewood and Carmel elementary schools and the Before and After-School Programs Administrator at Barkers Mill Elementary School. Keesler has several other professional experiences, including School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan Lead, Behavior Support Program Teacher, and Summer Literacy Program Teacher. She was named a Teacher of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Keesler is a graduate of the CMCSS Aspiring Administrators Academy and completed McREL Balanced Leadership for Administrators. She earned her Ed.S. in Administration and Supervision and M.A. in Elementary Education from Austin Peay State University and her B.S. in Human Resources Management from Hawaii Pacific University.
Northeast High School Assistant Principal
Dr. Kim Walker has been selected as an assistant principal at Northeast High School. She currently serves as a Student Support Coordinator at Northeast High. Dr. Walker has 14 years of administrative experience, and has served as an assistant principal at Kenwood Middle, Montgomery Central High, Montgomery Central Middle, and Northwest High schools. She began her career with CMCSS in 2002 and has taught at the elementary and middle school levels and served as an Academic Coach. Dr. Walker has served in numerous leadership roles, including Chair of Literacy Team and Literacy Programs, STEM Administrator, Safety Coordinator, and Special Populations Administrator. She earned her Ed.D. in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University, M.A.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Cumberland University, and M.A.Ed. in Administration and Supervision and B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Austin Peay State University.
The following administrative appointments were announced on January 5, 2024.
Director of High Schools
Christy Houston has been selected as the Director of High Schools. She has served as the Interim Director of High Schools since June 2023. Houston will continue to serve as the principal of Montgomery Central High School through the remainder of the school year while serving as the Director of High Schools to ensure continuity until a new Montgomery Central High principal is selected for the 2024-2025 school year. Houston has served as the principal of Montgomery Central High School for nearly 20 years and as the CMCSS Lead High School Principal since 2019. She began her career in public education in 1996. Before entering the principalship at Montgomery Central High School, she served as an assistant principal and as a teacher, cheerleading coach, and volleyball coach at Kenwood, Clarksville, and Rossview high schools in CMCSS and East Robertson High School in Robertson County. Houston earned her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University and B.A. in Foreign Languages from Austin Peay State University.
West Creek Elementary School Assistant Principal
Sandra Black has been selected as an assistant principal at West Creek Elementary School. Black currently serves as a Student Support Coordinator and Behavior Coach at Montgomery Central Middle School. She began her career with CMCSS in 2002, and she has served as a teacher at Kenwood Elementary and Montgomery Central Middle schools. Other professional experiences include Lead Teacher, Support Team Chair, 504 Coordinator and After-School Program Director. Black earned her M.S. in Education from Cumberland University and B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Austin Peay State University. Additionally, she earned her Graduate Leadership Program Certificate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.