The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district announced plans for interim leadership at Guy Phillips Middle School after its principal abruptly took a leave of absence on Monday.

A release from the district’s Chief of Staff Brandy Reeves told families and staff of the middle school that principal Edmon Jones “will be out of the office for an undetermined period of time.” A spokesperson for CHCCS told Chapelboro that Jones’ absence is a “confidential personnel matter.”

In the meantime, assistant principal Tiffany Cheshire will serve as the interim principal, according to Reeves.

“We are pleased and excited that Mrs. Cheshire has agreed to step into this important role on an interim basis,” read the chief of staff’s message. “Students and families can expect to see additional new faces from the district as we provide the necessary supports for the Phillips Middle School team.”

Guy Phillips Middle School, which is located off North Estes Drive in Chapel Hill. (Photo via Marianne Howell Wright.)

According to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, people from the district’s Lincoln Center office will be spending more time on Phillips Middle’s campus to offer support to administrators and educators to fill any gaps in duties.

Jones was hired to lead Phillips Middle School in the summer of 2020, having worked previously in the Wake County Public School System as an assistant principal at several schools. Cheshire, who has worked in the CHCCS district since 2013, has been the assistant principal at Phillips Middle since 2017. She won the district’s Assistant Principal of the Year award in 2018-19.

 

Photo via WTOC.

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