During a called meeting Thursday, March 31, the Clarke County Board of Education approved the hire of Dr. Amanda Gorham as the new principal of Clarke Middle School, a position she has held on an interim basis since December 2021.

Dr. Gorham was named following an extensive selection process that included interviews with Clarke County School District administraton and representatives from the CMS Local School Governance Team (LSGT). 

“I am excited to continue serving as principal of Clarke Middle School and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with all of our school’s stakeholders,” said Dr. Gorham. “I believe that all students are capable of success, and it is the job of educators to discover what fuels a student’s fire and to then guide them toward achieving their goals and dreams.” 

Dr. Gorham brings to CMS two decades of experience serving students in Title I public education. She worked as a teacher, coach, guidance counselor, assistant principal, and principal in rural, urban, and suburban schools districts in grades pre-K-12 and was principal at Macon County Middle School prior to joining CCSD in 2018 as an associate principal at Clarke Central High School. 

She later became Director of Alternative Education for the district, supporting students at Classic City High School and the CCSD Learning Center. Under her leadership, Classic City High’s graduation rate increased by 16%, and the school graduated 80% of its seniors who started the 2020-21 school year, most of whom transferred from their home schools credit-deficient. 

Dr. Gorham holds a bachelors degree in Middle Grades Education and a masters degree in Guidance and Counseling from Fort Valley State University and received her Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership degree from the University of Georgia. She also holds an Educational Specialist in Educational Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University. 

“Dr. Gorham’s passion and advocacy for her students and her proven success in empowering them academically, socially, and emotionally will continue to serve Clarke Middle School well,” said CCSD superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas. “In her own words, she is ‘committed to creating an environment that serves the whole child,’ and with her leadership and the hard work and dedication of her staff, we know we will see positive outcomes at CMS.”