Columbus private school has a new principal

A Columbus private school has a new principal.

Calvary Christian School announced Wednesday the hiring of Craig Johnson to succeed Randolph Prudent as its upper school principal.

Johnson comes to Columbus from Augusta, where he was academic dean of the Westminster Schools. His 30 years there also included positions as upper school principal, high school principal and chairman of the fine arts and history departments, according to Calvary’s news release.

He is a 1995 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, a five-time Professional Association of Georgia Educators STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) Teacher of the Year for Westminster and a three-time Georgia Independent School Association debate championship head coach, according to the news release.

Johnson earned a master’s degree in education supervision and administration from Augusta State University in 1993 and a bachelor’s degree in history from Wheaton College, in suburban Chicago, in 1983, according to the news release. He and his wife, Lulu, have three sons, who graduated from Westminster.

“Mr. Johnson is uniquely qualified to lead the Upper School of Calvary Christian,” Calvary headmaster Jim Koan said in the news release. “His commitment to excellence in academics, athletics and the arts provides our (348) students in 6th-12th with a complete Christian education. I am confident our parents and our staff will be blessed by his presence on campus and the impact he will have on our community. This is a huge win for Calvary to have someone of his caliber to lead our upper school.”

Johnson said in the news release, “I am eager to join the Calvary Christian team in serving Chattahoochee Valley families and students by providing an excellent education grounded in Christian truth and principles.”

The news release doesn’t explain why Prudent left Calvary, but Calvary communications and marketing specialist Becky Young told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, “Mr. Prudent resigned and has accepted a position with the Chattahoochee County School System.” He is continuing as pastor of Benning Hills Baptist Church, she added.

The L-E didn’t reach Prudent for comment. ChattCo superintendent David McCurry confirmed Prudent’s employment there and said he will teach middle school math.

Before he joined Calvary three years ago, Prudent was principal of Central Fellowship Christian Academy in Macon and associate pastor at Central Fellowship Baptist Church.

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Columbus private school has a new principal."