Three Lexington elementary schools have new principals. See who was hired.

New principals have been hired for three Fayette County Public elementary schools, Superintendent Manny Caulk announced Wednesday night:

John Moore is the new principal of Ashland Elementary School; Michael Jones is the new principal of Mary Todd Elementary School and Ebony Hutchinson is the new principal at William Wells Brown Elementary School.

The appointments left just one school leadership post open in the district as of Wednesday , the principal position at Yates Elementary School. That has been open since earlier this month when Twanjua Jones was named principal at Morton Middle School.

The three new principals “impressed me for different reasons, but they share a passion for serving all students at high levels and feel a sense of urgency to meet the moral imperatives facing our district,” said Superintendent Manny Caulk.

“I believe each of them is up to the challenge of leading in these uncertain times,” he said.

Moore has eight years of experience in education, having started his professional career teaching special education at Booker T. Washington Elementary. After four years in the classroom, he was hired as a behavior coach and Administrative Dean at Coventry Oak Elementary.

Since 2019, he has also worked with teachers throughout Fayette County Public Schools as a safe crisis management trainer. Moore holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Louisville, a master’s degree in teaching from Midway College and studied instructional leadership at Georgetown College, where he earned his principal certification.

Jones started his professional career as a counselor for the Hope Hill Children’s Home and later accepted his first teaching job at Western High School in Jefferson County.

He joined Fayette County Public Schools in 2011, and taught science for seven years at The Learning Center and Southern Middle School prior to being named the behavior interventionist at The Learning Center. Since 2018 he has also worked with Bluegrass Community and Technical College as the Academic Coordinator for their Upward Bound Program. He joined the team at Mary Todd Elementary last fall as the professional growth and effectiveness coach.

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary science education with an emphasis in biology and a master’s degree in secondary school counseling from Morehead State University, and holds principal certification from Western Kentucky University.

Hutchinson has 16 years of experience in the field of education, having started her career as a primary teacher in the Shelby County Public Schools, where she also served a district instructional elementary math coach and instructional coach.

She joined the Fayette County Public Schools in 2013 as a curriculum coach at Garden Springs Elementary before moving to the role of professional growth and effectiveness coach at The Academy for Leadership at Millcreek Elementary School. Hutchinson holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kentucky State University, and a master’s degree in educational leadership as well as her principal certification from the University of Kentucky.

All three will officially assume their duties on July 1.