New principals hired for these three Lexington elementary schools.
New principals have been hired for three Lexington elementary schools, Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk announced Tuesday.
The three include:
▪ Donte Tichenor, new principal of Booker T. Washington Elementary School
▪ Jennifer Spencer, new principal of Julius Marks Elementary School
▪ Jennifer Jacobs, new principal at the new Fayette County Public Schools’ Girl’s STEM School
“Each of them has embraced the call to serve all students at high levels and feels a sense of urgency in meeting the moral imperatives facing our district,” Caulk said in a news release. “I look forward to supporting them and helping them grow.”
Tichenor started his professional career as an admissions counselor and career transition specialist with the Job Corps program helping teenagers and young adults prepare for the world of work, according to the news release.
He then went to work as a case manager with a private mental health provider, supporting families in crisis.
Tichenor joined the Fayette County Public Schools in 2009, and since then has worked as a substitute teacher, paraeducator, social studies teacher, behavior interventionist and dean of students.
In 2018, he was selected to be the Academy Principal for the Informational Technology Academy at Bryan Station High School and for the past year, has been the professional growth and effectiveness coach at Booker T. Washington Elementary.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Kentucky and two master’s degrees from Morehead State University, one in teaching and one in instructional leadership.
Spencer has more than 16 years of experience in education. She served as an elementary teacher, assistant principal and principal in Kanawha County Schools in Charleston, West Virginia, where she led one of that state’s Schools of Innovation creating professional learning communities and 21st century learning spaces to engage students in becoming problem solvers, collaborators, creative thinkers and student leaders, the news release said.
She relocated to Kentucky last year and is currently the Administrative Dean at Southside Elementary in Woodford County. Spencer earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the Eastern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in educational administration from Marshall University.
Jacobs has more than 14 years of experience in education. She was a sixth grade teacher, middle school math teacher, and pre-k through fifth grade math coach in the Chicago Public Schools. Since 2016, she has been an assistant principal at Scott Elementary in Franklin Park, Illinois. Jacobs holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Washington, and two master’s degrees from National Louis University, one in teaching and one in educational leadership and administration.
Tichenor and Spencer will start work on July 1. Jacobs started in her new job last week.