Pharr Elementary Gets New Principal

Gwinnett County Public Schools announced Thursday that Pharr Elementary School will greet a new principal in June.

Mary Thomas was approved as the newest principal of at the district's monthly meeting in April. Her appointment is effective as of June 1. The current principal, Jerry Raymond, is retiring.

Other new principals named Thursday were: Peggy Goodman for Five Forks Middle School and Ken Johnson for Archer High School.

Thomas, who is a member of the district's 2012 Quality-Plus Leader Academy for aspiring principals, has been with Gwinnett County schools since 1987.

She earned a bachelor's degree in speech and language pathology from the University of Georgia and a master's degree in the same area of study from Georgia State University. Thomas also has a specialist degree in educational leadership from Lincoln Memorial University.

Thomas' GCPS employment includes:

• 2006-present, assistant principal, Arcado Elementary School
• 2002-2006, assistant principal, Craig Elementary School
• 2000-2002, assistant principal, Nesbit Elementary School
• 1997-2000, intervention specialist, Nesbit Elementary School
• 1987-1997, speech pathologist,

On Thursday, the school board also approved Peggy Goodman to lead Five Forks Middle School, which is in the Brookwood Cluster.

Goodman will be leaving Gwin Oaks Elementary, where she has been principal since 2006. She is replacing Mary Hensien, who is retiring.

Before coming to GCPS in 2000, Goodman worked in Fulton County Public Schools and in two school districts in Alabama.

She holds a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. In addition, Goodman has a specialist’s degree in educational administration and policy from the University of Georgia.

In addition to Thomas and Goodman, GCPS named a third new principal: Ken Johnson. He will take over at Archer High School after spending eight years as principal at Berkmar High School in Lilburn.