This week certainly isn’t the first for Jessica Nagy at Hillsborough Elementary School, but it is her first in a new leadership role.

Nagy, who had been the assistant principal of the school since 2017, officially took the reins as permanent principal on Saturday, October 1. The Orange County Schools Board of Education approved her selection during its September 12 meeting, allowing her time to work closely with retiring principal Christine Kreider before taking the mantle.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the Hillsborough Elementary community,” Nagy said in a message shared with school families. “My motivation comes from the remarkable staff and incredible students and families of HES who inspire me to be my best every day. I look forward to working together to cultivate a brighter future!

“I love this job, I love this school, and we’ve got momentum to continue to grow as leaders and learners,” she added. “I look forward to continuing this efficacious momentum!”

Jessica Nagy, Principal of Hillsborough Elementary School. (Photo via Orange County Schools.)

Nagy arrived at the Orange County Schools district in 2011, teaching with English Language Learners at Orange Middle School after previously serving at two other districts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern Languages from Winthrop University and earned a Master’s degree in School Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. Nagy also earned prior recognition for her work in the district, winning the Orange County Schools’ Assistant Principal of the Year award for the 2020-21 school year. Kreider also earned the district’s Principal of the Year award that same year.

Hillsborough Elementary School, which is off Nash Street near downtown Hillsborough, is the Orange County Schools district’s only year-round school. Using its schedule to evenly distribute breaks for students and staff, the school currently has around 460 students enrolled.

Kreider’s retirement comes after she joined the district as Hillsborough Elementary’s principal in 2018, previously working in other North Carolina schools for more than two decades.

 

Photo via Matherly Collins/The Daily Tar Heel.

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