GCPS Board of Education Approves Leadership Changes

At their regularly scheduled meeting on June 5, 2023, the Board of Education approved recommended school leadership changes at Tar River Elementary School.  

Ms. Lisa Tusa has been named as the Principal of Tar River Elementary School. Ms. Tusa is an experienced school leader with nearly 22 years of service in Granville County Public Schools, 14 of them as a principal at the middle and high school levels.  She began her career as a 3rd grade teacher in New York, then moved to NC where she first taught in Durham and then, as a 5th teacher at Creedmoor Elementary School.   Ms. Tusa earned her undergraduate degree at Dowling College in New York and her Masters degree from NC State University.   A native of New York, Ms. Tusa has found a home in Granville County and has deep ties to the community through her many years of service to the children of our district.  Ms. Tusa begins in her new role effective June 6, 2023.

Ms. Lisa Tusa, Principal, Tar River Elementary School

Mrs. Rita Jackson was named the Assistant Principal of Tar River Elementary School and will serve alongside principal Tusa.  Mrs. Jackson has been an educator for eight  years, having served as an Exceptional Children's Program Teacher at West Oxford and Dean of Students at Butner Stem Middle School.  She completed her administrative internship at JF Webb High School during the 2022-2023 school year.  Mrs. Jackson is also a graduate of South Granville High School and earned her undergraduate and masters degrees from NC Central University. She and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters, both graduates of GCPS.  Mrs. Jackson begins her new role with the 2023-2024 school year.

Mrs. Rita Jackson, Assistant Principal Tar River Elementary School

Superintendent McLean offered her comments, stating, “I am very proud to announce these two amazing educators as the new leaders at Tar River Elementary School.  I believe that both Ms. Tusa and Mrs. Jackson will lead the school forward and continue the tradition of excellence in academics.  We are very proud of the family of Terrapin educators and look forward to another successful school year at their school.”

In addition to the leadership announcements at Tar River Elementary School, the Board also named Mr. Michael Spradlin to take on the new role of SparkNC Lab Leader.  Mr. Spradlin, who previously served in the administrative role of Dean of Instruction for Granville Academy, will begin this new position on July 1, 2023.  SparkNC is a special, grant-funded initiative designed to provide middle and high school students opportunities to learn skills and gain credentials in the high tech sector, including the areas of computer programming, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), game art design, computer engineering and Esports.

Mr. Spradlin came to Granville County Schools seven years ago after spending five years in the Outdoor and Environmental Education field. He holds a BA in History from Brevard College, an MS in Experiential Education from Minnesota State Mankato, and an MSA Add-On from UNC Wilmington. He has been a teacher for seven years, having taught at Northern Granville Middle School and at Granville Academy; and has been the Dean of Instruction at Granville Academy for the past two years. 

Mr. Spradlin will recruit, teach and coach students through a variety of competency-based modules and work-based learning experiences.  In addition, he will facilitate special field trips to various business partners throughout NC (Apple, Lenovo, Epic Games, etc), all of which will lead toward industry-based credentials and course credit.  The state-of-the-art Spark NC Lab, fully-equipped through grant funds, will be located at South Granville High School and will be open to all GCPS students in grades 8-12.  The goal of the program is to build awareness, interest and readiness for our students to enter the high-paying, high-demand world of work in the high-tech sector.  For more information about this program, please reach out to Mr. Spradlin at spradlinm@gcs.k12.nc.us