The principal of East Heights Elementary School resigned her position and has accepted a teaching position at Bend Gate Elementary School.
Henderson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Lawson on Monday sent out a phone message to East Heights parents informing them that Erika Odom had resigned.
The message also stated that, “We are currently working closely with the East Heights SBDM (Site-Based Decision Making) Council on the next steps in the principal hiring process.”
Megan Mortis, HCS director of public information, said the school district has already posted a job advertisement on the district’s employment opportunities website. And Lawson has met with the East Heights SBDM to work to fill the position, she said.
Mortis said the school district has set a goal to have the position filled with a permanent replacement by the first day of school, which is Aug. 13.
The message from Lawson to parents also said that the East Heights leadership and instructional coach “are providing support to our staff, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition as we prepare to welcome students back on Thursday, August 13.”
In a phone call with the Hendersonian, Mortis said that Odom will be teaching second grade at Bend Gate. Asked why Odom left, Mortis responded that she accepted the position at Bend Gate and then put in her resignation (for East Heights principal) to the school board.
Last spring, Odom had been picked to be the next human resources director for the school district. But at about the same time, parents of children at East Heights became upset with the school’s communication surrounding two incidents, one involving a BB gun and the other a butterfly-type knife that a student showed on a bus. Some commenters on Facebook were angry at the way communication around the incidents was handled.
Soon after, Odom decided to stay at East Heights, Lawson said.
