A pair of Elizabethton City Schools officials will be shifted to new roles for the upcoming school year while another goes through with a commitment with the military.

Director of Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour recently announced for the upcoming school year that Elizabethton High School Assistant Principal Tom Hopson will serve as the interim principal at Harold McCormick. Eric Wampler, HME principal, will shift his focus to the Wandell Early Learning Center to help fill the temporary hole left by administrator Travis Thompson at the Wandell Early Learning Center as director.

Roughly over a year ago, ECS announced the hiring of Thompson as the Director of the Wandell Early Learning Center, Testing 6-12, Attendance & Related Services, and Student Data Services.

Thompson is still with the system, but is currently on leave to fulfill obligations with the United States Marines. Gardenhour stated the timeframe of the assignment for Thompson is roughly one year, or a little longer, so the moves were made to help fill the role during Thompson’s absence.

Gardenhour added that Thompson will have his job waiting for him once he concludes his duty with the Marines.

The director also thanked the Wampler and Hopson for stepping into new spots for the upcoming academic calendar.

“I appreciate those two gentlemen stepping up to those leadership roles for the upcoming school year,” Gardenhour said.

Prior to joining Elizabethton City Schools, Thompson worked 10 years with the Washington County School System teaching PE and serving as an assistant principal and principal.

Along with his duties at the center, Thompson also helped a leadership role for the testing within the school system.

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced five days ago that the results from the TNReady student assessments are now available, and that while results vary, “there are encouraging trends” which includes growth in English language arts for elementary-level students and high school maths.

“We see reason to be encouraged, but we also have a lot of work to do to meet our higher expectations for all students,” Commissioner McQueen said in a statement issued to the Elizabethton Star. “While we’ve focused extensively on early grades reading and are starting to see a shift in the right direction, we know middle school remains a statewide challenge across the board. TNReady serves as a vital feedback loop for teachers, parents, and administrators to tell us where we are, and the results inform what steps we need to take to help all students and schools succeed. We are committed to improving implementation of TNReady so that parents, educators, and the department can continue to know how our students are doing each year.”

A look at the ECS school scores will be featured in the Wednesday print edition of the Elizabethton Star.