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DARLINGTON, S.C. – The Darlington County Board of Education, at the district superintendent's recommendation, approved the hiring of four principals in the Darlington County School District (DCSD) for the 2024-25 school year. This was done during its regular meeting on Monday, April 15.

• Geneva Williams, currently the interim principal at Lamar-Spaulding Elementary School, will continue as principal at Lamar-Spaulding permanently.
• Ashley Taylor, currently the literacy coach at Pate Elementary School, will take over as principal at Pate.
• Heath Shirey, currently an assistant principal at Hartsville Middle School, will become the new principal at Spaulding Middle School.
• Kacy Keels, currently the principal at Thornwell School for the Arts, will become the principal at Carolina Elementary School. The search for a new principal at Thornwell will begin immediately.

“The decision to hire these four principals was reached after careful consideration and a multilevel interview process,” said Dr. Tim Newman, DCSD superintendent. “Each brings a wealth of experience and dedication to their respective schools, ensuring continued excellence in education for our students. Congratulations to Geneva Williams, Kacy Keels, Ashley Taylor, and Heath Shirey on their new roles.”

Williams, who assumed the role of interim principal at Lamar-Spaulding in December, brings 27 years of experience, all in DCSD, as an educator and administrator. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology/English from Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in Education Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix. She is also a member of several professional organizations.

Taylor brings 17 years of teaching and administrative experience to the principal role at Pate Elementary. She served as a teacher at West Hartsville Elementary School in DCSD for nine years before teaching and serving as an assistant principal and principal in another district. In 2010, she earned distinction as DCSD’s District Teacher of the Year. She returned to DCSD in 2022 as literacy coach at Pate Elementary. Taylor holds a Master of Education in Instructional Accommodation from Francis Marion University and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Winthrop University. She also holds an add-on license in K-12 School Administration from Wingate University.

Shirey brings 17 years of teaching and school administrative experience to Spaulding Middle. He is currently in his sixth year as assistant principal at Hartsville Middle, where he spent the prior seven years as a sixth-grade Mathematics teacher. He was named the school's Teacher of the Year in 2017-18 and became a DCSD Honor Roll Teacher that year as a finalist in the District Teacher of the Year selection. Shirey holds a Master of Arts in Science Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a School Administration and Leadership Certification from Gardner-Webb University.

Keels, who serves as Thornwell's principal this school year, brings 14 years of teaching and administrative experience to Carolina Elementary. Keels spent six years as DCSD's director of early childhood before taking over at Thornwell, where she was named the school's Teacher of the Year in 2012-13. Keels holds a Master of Education in Language and Literacy and a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Clemson University.