Greenwood High School's new principal, Percy Powell, ought to be in familiar territory when he assumes the school's top leadership post.
Powell, principal of Threadgill Elementary School for the past several years, is a graduate of the GHS Class of 1976.
The Greenwood School Board hired Powell during a meeting Tuesday and also selected another "local," Melvin Cook, as Powell's replacement at Threadgill. All five board members - Margaret Clark, Barbara Gray, Jimmy Dale Carter, Debbie Oxnam and Anjuan Brown - approved the appointments.
Cook is assistant principal at Amanda Elzy High School in the Leflore County system.
Dr. Leslie Daniels, superintendent, said he recommended Powell, a former teacher, for Greenwood High because "he has 25 years experience in the district and 15 as an administrator."
The job was vacated three weeks before the district's new fiscal year began July 1 by George Noflin, who had held the position for four years. Noflin was hired as an assistant superintendent in Tupelo.
The Greenwood district conducted a quick statewide search, and Powell "has the best qualifications of anybody," Daniels said.
He believes Powell is the first GHS alumnus to serve as the school's principal. "He's a local boy," Daniels said.
And Cook, said the superintendent, is a "Leflore County boy."
Cook, 42, is a former band director for junior high students in the Greenwood district. He's been an assistant principal at Elzy for two years.
