Chapel Hill High School has found its latest permanent principal.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education formally approved the hiring of Steven Sullivan from North Brunswick High School at its meeting Thursday night.
Sullivan has more than two decades of school leadership experience, according to CHCCS, and has earned Principal of the Year in three North Carolina districts — including in 2021-22 for Brunswick County Schools.
“I am absolutely thrilled to become a member of the Chapel Hill High School and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ family,” Sullivan said in a release on Friday. “Having the opportunity to join a school and a district that are among the best in the state and the country is a tremendous honor. During the interview process I had the pleasure to meet with members of several stakeholder groups. From this experience alone, I saw first-hand the maturity of the students, the supportiveness of the parents, the dedication of the staff, and the student-centered focus of the district. As a lifelong educator, this is a dream come true.”
Chapel Hill High School has been operating under interim principal Shelba Levins since the summer. Its prior permanent principal, Charles Blanchard, stepped down from the role in February after more than four years at the school.
Under Sullivan’s leadership at North Brunswick High School, students achieved a 125 percent increase in Advanced Placement course enrollment and a 50 percent increase in the Career and College Promise program, which allows high school students to dual-enroll in college courses. Prior to his tenure there, he served as principal at Isaac Bear Early College High School and John T. Hoggard High School in the New Hanover County School system as well as principal for Heide Trask High School in Pender County Schools. Before working in public education, Sullivan served as a Chinese Language crypto-linguist in the U.S. Air Force.
Sullivan is also no stranger to Chapel Hill. He graduated from UNC with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education before continuing with a master’s in education at Troy State University in Alabama and earning a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
According to CHCCS, Sullivan will begin his role as Chapel Hill High’s principal in January at the start of the second semester of the academic year. Levins will continue to serve as associate principal for the school, while Ally Scercy and Dorian Lockear will continue on as its assistant principals.
Photo via Brunswick County Schools.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
