DeKalb Middle School will not only see some new faces amongst the student body this upcoming school year, but also in the principal offices. DeKalb County Director of Schools Patrick Cripps announced last Friday the school will have a new principal and assistant principal.
Caleb Shehane will the new principal, filling the position from Lacey Foutch, who served as DMS principal for three years. Angela (Cantrell) Johnson will be moving as assistant principal, taking over from Anita Puckett. Both Foutch and Puckett have been reassigned to teach within the school system.
He may be from Warren County but Shehane knows DeKalb very well. He lives in the Short Mountain area with his wife Heather (Cantrell) Shehane, and together they have a six-year-old and a four-year-old. He said he has many relatives that reside in DeKalb County and Heather is a DeKalb native. He has taught 6th grade math for the last 12 years at Centertown Elementary School in Warren County, with this being his first job in administration.
“I am excited about the new role,” said Shehane. “We’re going to focus on building meaningful connections this year. We’re teaching with high academic standards while we’re building those meaningful connections. We’re going to support the teachers around here and encourage all stakeholders to get involved and help us move forward in a positive way to make sure our students are ready for high school and a college career.
Shehane went to Tennessee Tech where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree, then moved to Middle Tennessee State University where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Curriculum Administration, and later back to MTSU for a degree an Educational Specialist.
Director Cripps said he thinks Shehane has some great energy and will be an asset to the school. “I’ve been in administration for 17 years, and just finished my seventh year as director, and I’ll say this about Caleb, he may be the most excited person I have ever hired going into a position. Even from the first interview you could tell he was a go getter. When I’ve talked to people, not only at his school (Centertown Elementary), including parents, they have come up to me and said ‘You are getting somebody special. You are getting somebody that is a worker who loves kids and loves people.’ That is what I am excited about,” Director Cripps continued.
Johnson may be new to the assistant principal position, but she is no stranger to DeKalb Middle School. “I grew up here (DeKalb) and have lived here all my life,” Johnson said. “I just finished my 12th year of teaching and before that I was an educational assistant here in the school system for about four and a half years. I have also subbed in every school in the county and have even subbed as an aid on a bus.”
Johnson served as a second grade teacher for six years at Smithville Elementary, and six years at DMS, including the three years as a Science teacher and the last three years as a Response to Intervention (RTI) instructor and as an English Language Arts (ELA) coordinator. Before that she was an educational assistant in the school district for four and a half years.
Angela and her husband Bobby Johnson have three children, Ian and twins Garrett and Isabella. She also has a grandchild, Waylon, who will turn three years old in August.
She earned her Associates Degree from Motlow State Community College, a Bachelors Degree at Tennessee Tech, and a last year a Master’s Degree at TSU.
Johnson said she is excited about her new role and looks forward to working with Principal Shehane. “We’re working well together and feeding off each other. These are my people and this is where I come from. I’m dedicated to this community and have always worked hard trying to do things in the community and school system.”
“We want to build a family here,” Johnson continued. “Build a culture. A family not just with the staff and employees here, but with the students, so that they feel when they come here they are supported and that we care. That’s the biggest thing we want to work on here,” said Johnson.
Director Cripps said Johnson has great dedication to her job and to her students. “I get to work at 7:00 in the morning and Angela’s here before that. She’s worked afterschool programs and summer school programs. She is a worker and is here before school starts and way passed after school ends.”
“We’re excited about the work ethic and the love both have for people,” Cripps continued. “And it’s going to be tough. Administration is a tough job, and it has changed in the 17 years I have been doing it. Things I always have with me in my backpack are my Bible, board policies, and Tennessee Code Annotated (state law book). One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given, after Mr. (Mark) Willoughby (former Director of Schools) hired me as principal at DCHS, Mr. (Ernest) Ray (former principal and Director of Schools) called me and said, ‘You can say ‘no’ and change it to a ‘yes,’ but it’s hard to say ‘yes’ and change it to a ‘no.’ I have lived by that from that day. I hope that is something that they will take on.”
“We are excited about the vision Caleb and Angela have and where they want to take the school,” said Director Cripps.
“We are going to go by our motto this year that we are going to be a student-centered learning community in a safe, positive and respectful environment,” Shehane added. “We are going to support students and support teachers. When they leave DeKalb Middle School every day, they are going to know that they are supported and loved.”
