Two days after announcing a batch of new principals at a school board meeting, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools sent an after-hours email saying West Charlotte High also has a new leader.
Northridge Middle School principal Orlando Robinson has been named principal of the historically Black high school that played a prominent role in the district’s history of desegregation. Robinson has been with CMS as an administrator and teacher for 22 years.
West Charlotte's new school year begins Aug. 29 in a new $106 million building that replaces the hodgepodge of older buildings on campus.
The school has experienced turmoil in its athletics program, including the forfeit of the 2021 football season because of ineligible players. The Charlotte Observer has reported that a West Charlotte coach recently left the district after being placed under investigation for exchanging sexually explicit texts with a student.
Previously, Donevin Hoskins was the principal at West Charlotte. CMS spokesman Eduardo Pérez says Hoskins "remains an active employee" but would not say what his assignment is.
A final-stretch quest to get principals in place is traditionally part of the back-to-school season. At Tuesday's board meeting, the district announced six appointments:
- Amy Mims, principal of Bradley Middle School, was named principal of Independence High School.
- Katy Coffelt, an assistant principal at Ardrey Kell High School, was named principal of the Northwest School of the Arts, a magnet school serving grades 8-12.
- Larenda Denien was named principal of Eastway Middle School. In her most recent assignment at Idlewild Elementary School, Denien was named the 2021 Principal of the Year for CMS and the state's southwest region.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg SchoolsEastway Middle School Principal Larenda Denien - Kimarcus Lockhart, an assistant principal at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, was named principal of Turning Point Academy, an alternative school for students with discipline problems.
- Rolando Parkins, an assistant principal at Mountain Island Lake Academy, was named principal of Thomasboro Academy, a K-8 school.
- Robin Lyles-Khan, an assistant principal at Lebanon Road Elementary, was named the principal of South Pine Elementary School.
