2 Floyd County principals announce retirement
Cave Spring Elementary School Principal Trina Self and Glenwood Primary Jill Shepherd are planning to retire this school year.
Cave Spring Elementary Principal Trina Self and Glenwood Primary Principal Jill Shepherd will both see the end to their decadeslong careers in education as they plan to retire during this school year, according to a newsletter from Superintendent John Jackson.
Self is aiming to retire in November, while Shepherd has set a date for her departure around March. Both women started at Floyd County Schools during the 1980s, with Self taking a teaching job at Pepperell Primary in 1983 and Shepherd joining the teaching staff at Model Elementary in 1988.
Self became Cave Spring’s principal in 2011, and Shepherd took the lead at Glenwood in 2010.
Both principal openings will be advertised, Jackson said, but how the system will go about filling their positions for the portions of the year left after their retirements is different.
November is not an ideal time for a principal search, since those interested are under contract for their current jobs. So the system would likely find a retired principal to take on an interim role, he continued, while searching for a permanent replacement.
For Glenwood, the system will start looking for potential hires around January or February. If an internal candidate is found, then they can finish out the year. However, if an external candidate is selected, then an interim would likely take the job on, with the new principal starting July 1.
Any new hires or promotions of someone to an interim role must be approved by the Floyd County Board of Education.
Jackson said both women have made a great impact on their schools and the system.
Cave Spring Elementary has long been a point of community pride, Jackson said, and Self has developed greater involvement between community members and the school.
It’s sad to be leaving her school family, Self said, but it’s time. She will miss the kids and the hugs she gets from students as they get off the bus, she added.
“It’s nerve- racking to leave the only job you have ever known,” Self said. “This job is 24/7.”
Self will retire just before the due date — Dec. 8 — of her first grandbaby, and she is excited about being a part of his life. She joked that it was a pretty good deal trading 250 kids for one.
Shepherd’s retirement will bring about more time for her to be with her family, specifically more opportunities to camp with her already-retired husband, the newsletter stated.
“She is going to leave an indelible mark with all the students she’s touched and all the families she’s interacted with over the years,” said Jackson, adding that her commitment to students’ success is special.