Derek Bowen has been tabbed to be Gilmer High School’s new principal.
The news was announced at the board of education’s regular meeting last Thursday. Bowen, 51, will take over the role previously held by Carla Foley, who is moving on to be the chief executive officer of the Gilmer College and Career Academy.
Bowen has been in education since 2001 and has 16 years of administrative experience. He was one of six candidates interviewed.
“He comes to us with a lot of life experiences,” said superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley. “He’s been an administrator in Gwinnett for years, and they have a really well-regarded leadership training program that he’s been through. When it comes down to it, it’s all about the fit. All of the candidates were well qualified on paper, but his specific experience and personality was a good fit for us. He seems like someone who will fit in well here and be able to relate to our kids and staff in a professional manner.
“We were looking for someone who is not just an outstanding educational administrator, but they need to be able to forge positive relationships. He was that good balance that we felt would work well for us as a school district.”
Bowen and his wife Michelle have a son Ethan, who is a freshman at the University of Georgia, and daughter Brightyn, a sophomore at Dawson County High.
Bowen was born in Athens and has been a lifelong fan of UGA football. He attended Berkmar High and made his way to Georgia State University after graduation.
His path to GHS took some twists and turns as he left Georgia State in his fourth year to pursue a career in construction. He spent 15 years working in commercial contracting before eventually completing his education degree at Shorter University.
However, he only lasted a year in the classroom before returning to construction in Atlanta. He made the move to the classroom permanently in 2001 as a business education teacher at Shiloh High School.
“I had really good coaches and teachers in high school. I had those kind of influences, and I worked in construction growing up with my father,” Bowen explained. “I didn’t think that (construction) was the avenue I wanted to pursue so I was looking for a different path. I like the teaching and coaching environment, and that’s what drew me to education originally.
“It always tugged at me that I needed to go back and finish up my degree and I did. I taught for a year and was disoriented with the entire process and left it. I went back into construction for another year, then after a series of changes where I previously taught, I got drawn back into it. I realized it was what I wanted and needed to do.”
Bowen went on to obtain his specialist and master’s degrees in education from UGA. He became the chairman of Shiloh’s business department in 2003 and was named assistant principal in 2006. He also held the position of athletic director for two years before moving, and he left Shiloh for Archer High School in 2009.
He was an assistant principal at AHS until 2015 when he was promoted to associate principal. He held that position before accepting his latest role at GHS.
“My focus in education is providing multiple opportunities for students for whatever direction they want to go and have them understand they need to be a lifelong learner,” Bowen said. “Learn a trade or a skill or a craft or go get a degree.
“You can’t just go out and not have some type of direction. The direction can change, and there are opportunities to pivot and turn and go in a different direction, but you’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Bowen has taken a simple lesson from his time in education, noting, “Kids are kids no matter where they’re at. I love kids and working with them and helping them find a path and direction. I’ve worked with kids through all ranges of socio-economic backgrounds and abilities. I love to show kids the opportunities that await them and show them things they may have never thought they could do or imagine places they could go.
“I want to show them they can do this and they can get there. It may take a little more work than they think they can do, but that’s why there are teachers and administrators as facilitators to push students along.”
Bowen and his family made the move to the mountains in the middle of the pandemic. They left Gwinnett to ease the situation of caring for his elderly parents.
“When we first visited, we loved Ellijay, and the Dahlonega area and Dawson County, and we ended up settling on a home in Big Canoe that fit our purpose,” Bowen said. “It’s a much more welcoming world up here. We’re able to be outdoors in a great area with lots of activities.
“I can go hiking, canoing, kayaking and fishing, and those are the things we like to do. What was the point in driving through all this nonsense to get there when we can just live there all the time?”
They settled in an advantageous area that offered plenty of options if he ever decided to work outside of Gwinnett. That opportunity arrived with the opening at GHS.
“I had looked at some other areas and interviewed for some different types of jobs over the past year, year and a half. When this one opened, I went full-fledged,” Bowen said. “The position opened about when my basketball coach’s interview (Dani Wright) was picking up traction. That led me to do a little more research.”
Bowen was in town last Thursday and Friday and received the grand tour of GHS and its campus.
“The facilities were beautiful and the people were really nice,” he said. “Carla has done a great job at the school, people were working and the students were welcoming. Many of the students came up to me and were talking to me, which is kind of rare for students of that age. The staff was very inviting into their classrooms.
“Dr. Ridley and his staff have been amazing to work with. From the first day I walked into the facility, everybody was welcoming. It’s a little different from metro Atlanta.”
Bowen will be on the job much earlier than next school year and will report for his first day April 11. He does not have any pre-emptive plans for GHS, and is ready to get the lay of the land.
“I want to observe,” he said. “I’ll do a lot of classroom observations to get to know the students and teachers so I know how we do business at Gilmer High School. My goal isn’t to come in and change things, it’s just to observe what’s going on.
“I want to keep things moving in a positive direction and work with Dr. Ridley and his staff to see what his vision is moving forward and adopt that vision as my own and put it into place.”