The Coweta Charter Academy at Senoia has a new principal. The departure last month of Terry Stollar led to the selection of 18-year educator Tiffany Pollock to head the charter school for the 2012-2013 school year. Pollock taught at the Charter Schools USA sister-school in Cherokee County last year and, prior to that time, served in various teaching and administrative positions in the Marietta City School System, in Muscogee County and Greenwood, South Carolina.
Pollock replaces former principal Terry Stollar, who resigned last month to take a position with another Charter Schools USA school in Indiana to be near her family.
Pollock joined Charter Schools USA last year at the Cherokee County campus, teaching intensive math and reading. She was set to begin this school year when Stollar announced that she would be leaving. It was then that the Canton resident said she would fill-in until a principal could be found.
“I was going to come for a few weeks. Then I got here and fell in love, so I applied for the principal’s position,” Pollock said. And for the former principal at Dunleith Elementary School in Marietta, Pollock now finds herself serving as a school principal again. This time it is in Senoia.
“I’m thrilled to be here. It’s perfect fit for me. I love being in a place where everyone wants to help,” Pollock said. “I’m a life-long learner and a huge child advocate. I believe that I, with the staff and parents, can make a difference.”
Pollock said she views teachers as the facilitators of a child’s learning, one where the relationship that results will identify the child’s specific learning style and utilize it for further learning.
Concerning parents, Pollock said they are critical in the education process because they know their child, have a vision for their child and should share that vision with educators.
“We used to call it parent involvement, but it’s really parent engagement,” Pollock said.
The partnership between parents and the school can serve to set the tone for the child’s life-long learning, Pollock said.
Asked why she left a long career with the pubic school sector to join Charter Schools USA, Pollock said, “I wanted to do something different. I heard great things about the charter school in Cherokee County. I went to volunteer and I was hired two weeks later.”
Speaking with Pollock, it was not without note that her home in Cherokee County is somewhat of a commute – make that 85 miles each way. To offset the commute, Pollock said on week days she will be staying with relatives who live closer to Senoia.
Prior to her first year with Charter Schools USA during the 2012-2012 school year, Pollock worked in the Marietta City Schools district as principal at Dunleith Elementary School from 2005-2011, as assistant principal at Marietta Middle School and Dunleith Elementary from 2003-2005. Rounding out her 18 years in education, Pollock taught a variety of courses in Cobb and Muscogee counties and in South Carolina.
Pollock completed her Educational Doctorate coursework from Nova Southeastern University in 2006, received an Education Specialist in Elementary Education from Troy State University in 2003 and masters from Lander University in 1997.
