1 new principal, 3 new assistants recommended for Muscogee schools. Who would move where
The appointment of one new principal and three new assistant principals are up for a vote at this month’s Muscogee County School District board meeting.
MCSD superintendent David Lewis has recommended the following promotions for the board to approve June 24:
Nathan Laney to be principal at Northside High School
Akear Mewborn to be an assistant principal at Jordan Vocational High School
D’Yana Hardaway to be an assistant principal at North Columbus Elementary School
Jennifer Ellis to be assistant principal at Veterans Memorial Middle School.
Here is background information about the recommended candidates, based on their resumes attached to the agenda:
Nathan Laney
Laney has been an educator for 24 years, all in MCSD, including the past 14 years as an assistant principal at Northside.
He would succeed Marty Richburg as Northside’s principal. Richburg was promoted last month to replace the retiring Ronald Wiggins as east region chief.
After working as a counselor and activity director at the Phenix City Boys & Girls Club (1996-98), Laney taught science and served as head boys golf coach and an assistant football coach at Jordan (2000-03).
In 2003, Laney moved to Northside, where he taught science for three years and physical education for four years before becoming an assistant principal. He also was head football coach (2006-07), head tennis coach (2004), boys golf coach and an assistant football coach.
Laney graduated from Central High School in 1996. After attending Chattahoochee Valley Community College, he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary science education from Auburn University (2000), a master’s degree in secondary education leadership from Troy State University (2003) and a specialist’s degree in secondary education leadership from Columbus State University (2009).
“Mr. Laney has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to Northside High School as a teacher, coach and assistant principal,” Lewis told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “As a member of the leadership team, he has been integral in fostering the school’s positive culture and success, leading to strong endorsements by his immediate supervisors. Mr. Laney’s appointment would promote continuity and continued success.”
Eight candidates applied for the position, and two were interviewed, Lewis said.
Akear Mewborn
Mewborn has been an educator for 13 years, all in MCSD, including the past six years as academic coach at Jordan.
She would succeed Taneshia Ingersoll as one of Jordan’s three assistant principals. Ingersoll was promoted last month to replace the retiring Amia Hamilton as Fort Middle School principal.
After working as a conservation and resolution specialist for Aflac (2005-12) and teaching part-time at Tillinghurst Adult Education Center (2011-12), Mewborn taught English language arts at Kendrick High School (2012-18). She also has taught part-time in an online ESOL course for Education First (2015-22) and as an adjunct professor of teacher education at Columbus State University (2020-current).
Mewborn earned a bachelor’s degree in English (2008) and a master’s degree in teaching (2012) from CSU, a specialist’s degree in teacher leadership from Mercer University (2017) and a certificate in educational leadership from the University of West Georgia (2022).
D’Yana Hardaway
Hardaway has been an educator for 14 years, mostly in MCSD, including since January as dean at Brewer Elementary School.
She would be one of two assistant principals at North Columbus, which is adding the second assistant principal position because of the school’s enrollment growth, Lewis said.
Hardaway started her career as a second-grade teacher at Midland Academy (2010) and Georgetown Elementary School (2010-13). After teaching for three years in the United Arab Emirates, she returned to MCSD and taught first grade and third grade at Wesley Heights Elementary School (2016-18), second grade at North Columbus (2018-19) and second grade at Brewer (2019-20).
As an administrator, Hardaway was academic coach (2021-22) and dean (2022-23) at Brewer before another stint in the UAE, this time as an assistant principal (2023).
Hardaway earned a bachelor’s degree (2009) and a master’s degree (2011) in early childhood education from Albany State University, a specialist’s degree in early childhood education from Georgia Southwestern State University (2020) and a certificate in educational leadership from Albany State (2021).
Jennifer Ellis
Ellis has been an educator for 21 years, including the past three years as dean at Veterans.
She would succeed LaToya Sanders as assistant principal at Veterans. Sanders was promoted last month to principal of Allen Elementary School, replacing Felecia Thompson, who was transferred to principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. Thompson replaces Karprice Bentley-Brown, who will be principal of a new accelerated literacy and numeracy center for K-2 students at Brewer.
Ellis started her career as a teacher in second, third and fifth grades in Clarksville, Tennessee (2003-07), then a seventh-grade English language arts and reading teacher in Leesburg, Georgia (2008-14) and a fourth-grade teacher in Sierra Vista, Arizona (2014-18). In MCSD, she was a sixth-grade English language arts teacher (2018-19) and an academic coach (20190-21) at Arnold Magnet Academy before joining Veterans.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Austin Peay State University (2003), a master’s degree in teaching and learning with technology from Ashford University (2007), a specialist’s degree in teaching and learning from Liberty University (2010) and a certificate in leadership from Georgia College & State University (2024).
