Familiar Faces in New School Administration Positions at DMS, DWS, & DCHS

July 27, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The start of the new school year is bringing changes in administration positions at three of the five schools in DeKalb County.

Teresa Jones, who became assistant principal last year at DeKalb Middle School, will succeed Caleb Shehane as principal there this year. Shehane recently resigned after serving two years as DeKalb Middle School principal.

Taking Jones’ place as DMS assistant principal is veteran teacher Josh Agee.

Meanwhile Thomas Cagle, who served as an assistant principal at DeKalb County High School for the last three years, has stepped down. Succeeding him in that role is Seth Willoughby, who for the last two years as been assistant principal at DeKalb West School.

Jones said she is super excited about this new chapter in her life.

“Last year I walked into an assistant principal position in a school that had some great foundations going on,” said Principal Jones. “My plan is to build on those foundations to make DeKalb Middle School a place where students, parents, and community members are proud to call their own. That is my goal. I want students to be proud of the job and success in the work they do while they are here. I want parents to be proud to send their kids to DeKalb Middle School and I want teachers to be proud being part of something that is moving forward,” said Jones.

Before becoming assistant principal last year, Jones served 20 years as a seventh-grade science teacher.

“I was a 7th grade math teacher for 15 years in Smith County and then I was hired here at DeKalb Middle School as a 7th grade math teacher,” she said.

In 2020, Teresa was chosen as Teacher of the Year for DMS and at the district level. She is married to Chris Jones and the couple has four children, Evan, Ean, Eli, and Olivia Grace.

After spending his entire career at DeKalb Middle as a teacher, Agee said he is proud to be joining the administration.

“I am going into my 24th or 25th year at the middle school so this is my family and my home,” said Agee. “I have done a little bit of everything throughout the years. I started off teaching math and I have done science, social studies, and reading. Everything except for English. My last job was RTI. I also coached basketball for 22 years here. I was ready for a new challenge. I am really excited about being a part of the leadership team here,” said Assistant principal Agee.

Agee and his wife January are the parents of four, Kennedy, Vaden, Lucas, and Teagan.

Meanwhile at DeKalb West School, Snow is moving from a long-time teaching position to administration as assistant principal.

“I am very overwhelmed but excited to serve in this capacity,” said Snow. “I just completed my 16th year teaching. For the last eleven years I taught 4th grade and before that I taught 1st grade for five years”.

Cindy’s husband is Eric Snow and her stepson is Brody.

Willoughby is returning to DCHS where he began his career in the school system as a Biology teacher in 2015 before taking the assistant principal post at DeKalb West in 2022. During his time at the high school, Willoughby also served as an assistant boys basketball coach and was the head tennis coach.

“I am very excited to be back at the high school. I will always love the West School. That’s a very special place but I look forward to serving the students and faculty at the high school,” said Willoughby.

Seth and his wife Mackenzie have a one-year-old son Baylon.

July 25, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Reminder: Early Voting for Tennessee’s Aug. 1 Elections Ends This Saturday, July 27

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett today reminded all registered voters that there is still time to utilize the flexibility of the early voting period to cast a ballot for the Aug. 1 State and Federal Primaries, and the County General Elections.

“Early voting runs through July 27, and this is a convenient and secure opportunity for all registered voters to cast a ballot,” said Secretary Hargett. “Don’t wait until Election Day; make a plan and head to your polling locations now.”

The DeKalb County Election Commission reports that to date a total of 544 people have voted locally during early voting for the August 1 elections including 513 in person and 31 by absentee. Of the 544 voters, 421 have cast ballots in the Tennessee Republican Primary and 105 in the state Democratic Primary. Eighteen voted in only the General Election without casting ballots in either primary.

On Thursday, July 25, the election commission reports that 48 voted including 47 in person and 1 by absentee. Of the 48, a total of 39 voted in the state Republican Primary and 9 in the Tennessee Democratic Primary.

Early voting in DeKalb County will be held Friday, July 26 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and Saturday, July 27 from 9 a.m. until 12 noon at the courthouse. Election Day is Thursday, August 1 and voting at all 12 precincts that day will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

While much attention has focused on state and federal primaries, several key local races in communities across the state will also be decided on Aug. 1. Registered Tennessee voters can find hours and polling locations, view sample ballots, and more by visiting GoVoteTN.gov or by downloading the Secretary of State’s free GoVoteTN app.

“Early voting means shorter wait times at polling locations right now,” said State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “We encourage all registered Tennessee voters to utilize our convenient and generous early voting period.”

Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Tennessee state government, or the federal government can be used even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.

Citizens can view early voting turnout data, see a list of candidates, view a sample ballot, and download the GoVoteTN app by clicking here. For more information, you can also visit GoVoteTN.gov or contact the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.

July 25, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

It’s nearly back to school time!

The DeKalb County Ministerial Association is pleased to announce that there will be a back-to-school prayer gathering on August 4th in the DeKalb County High School Gym at 2:00pm.

This prayer event will consist of two parts. First, there will be a gathering at the high school gym at 2:00 where local ministers will lead a time of prayer for administration and leadership, faculty and staff, students, parents/guardians, and extracurricular activities/athletics. The second part will consist of smaller groups gathering at each of the public schools in DeKalb County to pray specifically for that school.

The back-to-school prayer event is held annually on the Sunday before the first day of the school year. It is sponsored and led by the DeKalb County Ministerial Association.