New principal named for Phenix City school; all system employees awarded COVID-19 bonus
A Phenix City school has a new leader.
Julie Norden, coordinator of preschool services for Phenix City Schools, was appointed principal of Westview Elementary School when the school board approved superintendent Randy Wilkes’ recommendation during Thursday night’s meeting.
Norden has been Westview’s acting principal since Tavis Richardson resigned last month without a public explanation.
“I am honored to receive the confidence of Mr. Wilkes and the school board,” Norden told the Ledger-Enquirer in emailed interview Friday, “and I feel more than ready to serve the community.”
Asked how she would describe the type of leadership and changes she hopes to bring to Westview, Norden said, “I will continue to sustain the effective practices and program of the previous administration, and will focus attention on building teacher capacity through collaboration, student leadership, and a culture of literacy.”
Norden added, “I commit to doing my very best by leading with heart and modeling the way.”
In July 2018, Norden was appointed to the preschool coordinator position. She was appointed assistant principal of South Girard School in In June 2016.
Norden has been working for PCS since 2015, when she was hired as a reading intervention and media specialist at Meadowlane Elementary School.
She was library coordinator for the Temple (Texas) Independent School District from 2014-2015 and a media specialist there from 2013-15. She was a librarian and response to intervention coordinator for the Salado (Texas) Independent School District from 2008-13, a librarian and technology coordinator for Baldwin County Schools in Robertsdale, Alabama, from 2003-2008, a computer applications teacher for the Archdiocese of Mobile in Elberta, Alabama, from 2000-2003 and a fourth-grade teacher for Carteret County Schools in Newport, North Carolina, from 1994-1995.
Norden earned a doctorate in education from Auburn University, a master’s degree in educational administration from Texas A&M University Central Texas-Killeen, a master’s degree in library media from the University of South Alabama and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Auburn. She graduated from McGill Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile.
Employee bonuses
Also during Thursday night’s meeting, the board approved the superintendent’s recommended resolution to award each full-time employee $600 and each part-time employee $300 for “outstanding commitment and performance” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 9:19 AM.
