Gilmer County native and 14-year educator Sarah West is Clear Creek Middle School’s new principal.
The hire was made official at the Gilmer County Board of Education’s called meeting last Tuesday, May 31. West will take over for Nicole Pike, who was the school’s principal for seven years before moving on to be the director of assessment and compliance for the school district.
West, 37, and husband Brady are Gilmer High School alumni and they can often be found at gyms and ball fields coaching and cheering on daughter Halle Mae (11) and son Ty (7).
“I’m elated to have this opportunity. I’m blessed to inherit a great school with a great staff and great foundation that I’ve been lucky enough to help build over the past five years,” West said last Friday.
“I’m super excited, and of course, there are going to be new experiences that can create a little anxiety. I’ll now be sitting in a different seat. Before, I did have someone to go to, so there is some anxiety that comes with the unknown of that first year. I’m excited more than anything.”
After graduating from GHS, West went on to attain a middle grades education degree from the University of Georgia, which is also where she earned her master’s degree. She later received her educational specialist degree from Lincoln Memorial University.
“There is nowhere else I would rather be. I knew when I left, this is where I would come back to. This is where I wanted to have my family and have my kids educated. I’m a product of the system I’m now serving in,” West said.
“I’m very proud of our school system and schools and grateful that I have the opportunity to lead one of them and continue to do what we’ve done, which is raise good young men and women to be productive members of society.”
West’s entire educational career has been spent in Gilmer County. She started in the math department at Gilmer Middle School where she taught for nine years. Throughout her time in the classroom, West was continually put in leadership roles.
“Even early in my teaching career, I was put into leadership positions by (the late) Mr. (Larry) Walker, my principal. I became a department head early, and the district brought in professional learning communities, and I became a PLC leader right away for my math team,” said West.
“Mr. Walker nominated me, and I was accepted as part of the governor’s advisory council. I was able to lead part of our school’s improvement planning process even as a classroom teacher. I was thrust into a lot of leadership opportunities, and by year nine, there was an itch for a change.”
After leaving the classroom, West had a brief stint as an academic coach at Mountain View Elementary. However, when the position of assistant principal at CCMS opened in October 2017, West threw her name in the ring. She got the job and spent five years in the position.
“Being in an administrative role is a role of support and listening. That is something I have learned over the past five years,” West said. “Listening to students, parents and teachers is incredibly important as a leader because you definitely don’t have all the answers. It takes all of us coming together to make the best decisions for our students.”
Through her experiences as a classroom teacher and assistant principal, West believes she has a good idea of what it takes to nurture a thriving learning environment.
“One thing is a positive school culture where kids feel supported by strong teachers, who are not only strong in their content, but in their strategies and ways to reach children,” she said. “Middle school is a difficult age because you have to balance the hormonal growing up side with the academics and them figuring out who they are.
“Good family communication to get parents involved in their child’s education is important, too. We want to work together with them to emphasize the importance of education and what it means for their future because sometimes middle schoolers don’t see that.”
West hopes to continue to build those bonds through old traditions and bringing back opportunities for students that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pre-COVID, we had a lot of events where parents were invited into the building. We did a Valentine’s luncheon and a Thanksgiving luncheon, and even to our surprise at the middle school level, parents love to come in and do that with their child.
“We have classes that will be traveling to the high school to check out those CTAE courses and to Chattahoochee Tech. Bringing back those opportunities to see what their future can hold is already in the works for the upcoming school year.”
While summer vacation just got underway for the school system, West is excited for what lies ahead and plans to continue to operate the same as she always has.
“I will give it my all,” she said. “When I took the job, I’m 100 percent in to do my very best, and I will give my very best every day. I always have and will continue to do that in this new role.”