Pittsboro, NC – Dr. Emily Bivins has been named interim principal of Chatham Middle School. She will transition to her new role Monday, Jan. 2.
Bivins has been a teacher, a school administrator and a central office administrator. She is the former principal at Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe, an elementary dual language (English-Spanish) school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She has been a principal for 15 years in dual language schools. She has previously been a central office administrator and primary teacher in several rural and suburban areas of North Carolina. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University, a master’s from Elon University and UNC-Chapel Hill and a doctorate from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has contributed to several books and is an active blogger about dual-language leadership. She also serves as an adjunct professor at East Carolina University in educational leadership.
Bivins had been the principal of Carrboro Elementary from 2006 through 2013 and was the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools 2009-10 Principal of the Year. Bivins was also named Principal of the Year for the school district in 2018 and has been recognized for her work in bilingual education in a variety of publications and conferences.
“I believe education is the equalizer in our society. Every student deserves to have the highest quality experience for learning,” Bivins said. “I look forward to supporting Chatham Middle School during this transition and I am excited to be a part of the Chatham County Schools’ community.”
I believe all children should develop cross cultural competence, and full integration and use of another language is critical in our world and a natural way to develop cross cultural competence. Dual language education has benefits for all learners, but it is the only strategy for ESL students that is effective in closing the achievement gap by more than 50%. Thus, a full dual language school provides opportunity for more of our ESL students to participate and benefit from this wonderful approach to education that preserves language and culture.
Bivins has previously noted that “Family and community partnership are also critically important in the success of our students. During my time at Carrboro Elementary, we have had a successful parent outreach program with contiguous parent education courses, collaboration with community agencies and an active home visitation program. Collaboration with our local universities has also supported our students with tutoring, mentoring and cultural enrichment, in addition to professional development for our teachers and advancing the research of best practices in education.”
Chatham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson said he is excited to have Dr. Bivins at the helm. “The skills Dr. Bivens brings to her new role will enable Chatham Middle School to continue to grow and progress,” he said. “Her expertise is valued and will benefit the students and staff at Chatham Middle.”
Bivins succeeds Chad Morgan, who resigned his position earlier this year to pursue other opportunities.