SALISBURY — The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education hired five new principals Monday evening.
Julia Erdie, of Concord, will fill the vacancy left by Kelly Sparger at East Rowan High School. She is currently employed by Cabarrus County Schools as assistant principal of the new Cox Mill High School, built in 2008.
“I am very excited and thrilled to be able to join such a wonderful school community,” Erdie said.
She said she decided to come to the Rowan-Salisbury School System, and East Rowan High in particular, because she has heard great things about the community, parents, students, staff and administrative team.
“The most important thing I want to do right now going in is maintain the strong traditions they have in place,” Erdie said. “Mr. Sparger has done a wonderful job for a very long time at that school.”
Previously, Erdie has worked as a math teacher at Concord High School and Northwest Cabarrus Middle School.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and a master’s degree in school adminstration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Dennis Hobbs, who has been assistant principal at Carson High School since 2001, will transfer to China Grove Middle School as its principal. Hobbs also has served as assistant principal of China Grove Elementary School.
He also has taught at schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, the Mooresville Graded School District and Baltimore City Public Schools.
Southeast Middle School assistant principal Jennifer Lentz will take the lead as that school’s principal.
Hobbs holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from King’s College, a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master’s degree in school administration from Western Carolina University.
Lentz has been at Southeast since 2007. Prior to that, she worked as a middle and high school curriculum facilitator. She also has taught at Cleveland Elementary School and Corriher-Lipe and West Rowan middle schools.
She graduated from Catawba College with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Lentz also earned a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Rick Vanhoy, assistant principal at West Rowan Middle School, will become principal at Erwin Middle School.
Vanhoy, who has worked at West Rowan Middle since 2012, also has served as assistant principal of East Rowan High School. He has taught at South Rowan and East Rowan high schools, Lee County High School in Sanford and C.C. Erwin Junior High School in Salisbury.
Vanhoy graduated from North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in education. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Koontz Elementary School’s new principal will be Mary Hemphill, of Hickory. She is currently employed by Iredell-Statesville Schools as assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at Statesville High School — a position she has held since July 2010.
Hemphill previously worked as a teacher at Southwest Elementary School in Hickory.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Meredith College and a master’s degree in school administration from Western Carolina University. Hemphill is working on her doctoral degree at N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University.
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.
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