Sabrina McClard has been named principal of J. W. Wiseman Elementary School. She has served as an Elementary Instructional Coordinator with the school system for the last two years. Prior to that assignment, McClard taught for seven years as a classroom teacher at Westmoreland Elementary. She will be replacing principal Dale Wix who retires at the end of June.

McClard has also been contracted with the Tennessee Department of Education as a math coach. She was also involved in leadership training with the department. She has received valuable training that has been a benefit to the district.

Her training as a facilitator helped her provide valuable assistance when the state hosted Leadership 202, which centered on best practices, common core standards, and areas of math and writing deficits statewide.

As instructional coordinator for the system, she had numerous responsibilities. She also helped write a grant for the Teacher Leader Program for the school district. Through that training all teacher leaders and lead educators received training during the last two summers at Lipscomb University. Participants received coaching certificates from Lipscomb University last week.

McClard will work with her faculty and staff to revise goals for the school.

“I don’t believe they should be my goals,” McClard said. “They are collaborative goals. So one of the first things we will do as a staff will be to revisit our vision and mission statements, our belief, and make sure everything we do is student centered.

“We want to make sure students are our focus,” she added. “We also want to increase parent and community involvement.”

“I don’t see this as my school. I see it as our school -- the community, teachers, parents, and students. Wiseman is a place where we all grow and learn together. My vision is that everything we do benefits students, grows teachers, and involves the community.”

When asked about testing McClard said, “There is a time and place for testing. It is not about conducting the tests. It’s about what you do with the data. We will be very data driven. If we give an assessment, we will use it to guide instruction to better each individual student. It’s how you use testing that makes the difference.”

McClard received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and earned her master’s degree in administration both from Cumberland University.

McClard is married to David McClard, who is a realtor in Hendersonville. They have two children, Madison (7) and Emerson (5). When she is not working or attending classes, McClard enjoys spending time with her family and reading. The family makes their home in Lafayette. They are active members of Lafayette Missionary Baptist.

“What I really want people to know most is that I am excited about this opportunity,” she said. “I’m eager to work in a school with such talented teachers and wonderful students. I’m happy to be a part of such a lovely community.”

“Though I enjoyed working in Instruction and Curriculum, my heart is in a building with kids, where you can see a child grow academically and where you can have a direct impact on teaching and learning. I am very happy that Portland is the place where that’s going to happen.”