WOODBURY: Cannon County Director of Schools William Freddy Curtis announced a change in the Principalship of two Cannon County Schools. The change was announced at a faculty meeting of Cannon County Middle School on Wed., Oct. 12, 2022. Dr. Annie Reed is the Principal of Cannon County Middle School with Tammy Smith continuing to serve as Assistant Principal of Cannon County Middle School effective Thu., Oct. 13, 2022. Former Cannon County Middle School Principal Emily Hancock will assume duties as the Principal of Cannon County Elementary School and Julie Hackney will continue as Assistant Principal. Hancock has served as Principal of both schools since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year on Aug. 3, 2022.
“These individuals will continue to lead their respective schools into a new era of education in Cannon County. As we go forward, I have the utmost confidence that the individuals placed in these important and essential roles will exhibit academic excellence that will impact generations of Cannon County Students in the years to come,” Curtis said. “I sincerely appreciate Mrs. Emily Hancock so very much for ‘stepping up’ into these two important roles during the transition for the start of Cannon County Middle School and Cannon County Elementary School. Her expertise and skill were instrumental for initial success of the start of the new school year. Now that same expertise is needed full-time at Cannon County Elementary School, where she has intimate knowledge and recognized skill.”
“Dr. Annie Reed will now helm Cannon County Middle School and Mrs. Tammy Smith will continue her role as Assistant Principal. They are indeed a great ‘team’ and have exhibited mutual skills and knowledge that compliment each other. I am extremely confident in each of them to bring academic intensity accompanied by a caring attitude for every student at Cannon County Middle School.”
“The changes in school leadership will take place officially on Thu., Oct. 13, 2022. These instructional leaders are tasked to be ‘actively engaged in excellence every day and in every way,’ and our collective expectation is that each Principal will ‘create a unified environment of excellence that will provide opportunities for all students to succeed and reach their full potential.’ We congratulate those chosen individuals to lead their faculties, support staff, and most of all their students in the continuing 2022-23 school year,” Curtis said.
Reed has been promoted from Assistant Principal of Cannon County Middle School to Principal of Cannon County Middle School. Reed is an eighteen-year Cannon County veteran. She has taught a variety of subjects including English, RTI, and creative writing at Cannon County High School. She has led many committees and programs at CCHS including the Sunshine Committee, The Pride Newsletter, the CCHS Prom Committee, and the CCHS Student Council. She received a BA in special education/early childhood education with a minor in English in 2003 from Tennessee Tech University. She attended graduate school at Tennessee Tech University, Lee University, and Bethel University with over 120 hours of graduate work in special education, curriculum design, and assessment. She graduated with a master’s degree in 2010 from Bethel University. Reed received her PhD. in 2021 from Trevecca Nazarene University. She is currently working on her doctorate in literacy. “The entire CCMS team is excited to continue the progress that has been made at our school. I love Cannon County Schools and our students, and I can’t wait to see all of the good things that are coming to CCMS and our community,” Reed said.
Cannon County Middle School Assistant Principal Tammy Smith and Cannon County Middle School Principal Dr. Annie Reed
Smith has been promoted to Assistant Principal of Cannon County Middle School. She has been an employee of the Cannon County School System for 28 years. During her tenure, she has taught kindergarten, first grade, third grade, served as a literacy leader and a response to intervention specialist. She was a part-time assistant principal for 12 years while teaching at Woodbury Grammar School. This is her first year as a full-time assistant principal at Cannon County Middle School. Smith said she is looking forward to continuing serving the students of Cannon County. “We are not a team because we work together. We are a team because we respect, trust and care for each other and our students,” she said.
Emily Hancock has been reassigned as the full-time principal of Cannon County Elementary School. She had recently been serving as principal of both Cannon County Elementary School and Cannon County Middle School. Hancock is a sixteen-year veteran teacher from Woodbury, TN. She began her teaching career in Cannon County Schools at Woodbury Grammar School in 2006. She has taught first grade, served as a school-wide title I teacher for ten years, building test coordinator, assistant principal at Woodbury Grammar, and principal for Woodbury Grammar School. She attended Woodbury Grammar as a student until the third grade, and graduated as valedictorian at Boyd Christian School in 2002. After attending Motlow State Community College, she continued to Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville to receive a kindergarten through eighth grade teacher certification in 2006. As a lifelong resident of Cannon County, family and community are important values to her, she said. In 2008, Hancock graduated from Tennessee Tech University with a master’s degree in instructional leadership, and in 2012 with an educational specialist degree in reading. From 2016-17, she taught at Motlow State Community College as a reading adjunct professor. She has served as a Cannon County literacy teacher leader, and data coach, as well as, a presenter with TNCore. Her specialty area is working with kindergarten through third grade students with the Read To Be Ready Summer Reading Camps. Hancock was a teacher at the first state offered reading camp for Cannon County students in the summer of 2016. In 2017, 2018, and 2019 she was co-director of Cannon County Read to be Ready Camp which focuses on literacy in grades kindergarten through third grade with the Upper Cumberland goal of 90 percent of Tennessee students to reading proficiency by the end of third grade in the year 2025. In the summers of 2021 and 2022, she served as Principal of the Cannon County Schools Summer Learning Camps.
“I am very excited to pass the leadership of Cannon County Middle School to very capable hands. Over the last nine weeks, we have worked as a leadership team. It is now time for me to step away to be the full-time principal for Cannon County Elementary. I am confident in the skills and leadership of Dr. Annie Reed and Mrs. Tammy Smith. I’m so excited that Mrs. Julie Hackney is going to be full-time Assistant Principal at Cannon County Elementary. With all the changes this year, the additional support for academics, attendance, and behaviors will be vital in success for the 2022-23 school year for students and teachers. As a team, we will be able to provide consistency, structure and academic leadership throughout the building. We will work together to lead Cannon County Elementary as we prepare all students for his or her future,” she said.
Cannon County Elementary School Principal Emily Hancock and Cannon County Elementary School Assistant Principal Julie Hackney
Julie Hackney has been serving as part-time assistant principal of Cannon County Elementary School since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. She is the full-time assistant principal at Cannon County Elementary School. Hackney is entering her 20th year in education including 19 years of experience as a classroom teacher. She serves as the district-wide first grade instructional leader. She has served as a portfolio reviewer, was on the ELA curriculum adoption committee, is a part of the PECCA team, and she served as a CCEA representative. She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from MTSU, and recently received her master’s degree in instructional leadership from Austin Peay State University. She has been married for 15 years to her husband, Jamie, and she has three children; Jaysie, Jarren, and Jaylee. They are Tennessee Volunteer fans.
“I look forward to using my experience as an educator and leader to cultivate meaningful relationships among colleagues, parents, and students throughout the county. I thoroughly enjoy working with and supporting others in the education field. I am passionate about the direction of this county’s educational system, and I look forward to the amazing opportunities for the students of Cannon County,” she said.
For media inquiries, contact William Freddy Curtis, Director of Cannon County Schools, at (629) 201-4801, ext. 10101, or at williamf.curtis@ccstn.net for Cannon County Schools information.