By Thomas Sellers Jr.
You can’t really call it a passing of the torch.
Incoming Millington Central Middle-High School Principal Michael Perry and Millington Municipal School District first Deputy Superintendent Mark Neal have shared the baton in recent months with the transitions of their careers and for the overall district.
Under the guidance of MMSD Superintendent James “Bo” Griffin, Perry and Neal have worn multiple hats preparing for there new roles starting July 1 and helping the district transform from a four-school system to a trio of learning institutions.
Perry makes his return to Millington after starting his professional career at MCHS in 2000. After a stop with Bartlett City Schools as the High School Instructional Program Assistant, Perry took the job to return back to Flag City.
“It’s the family atmosphere,” he said. “All the teachers are here for all the right reasons. Incredible group of teachers, everyone feels like a family. Everybody has that mentality ‘What can I do that is best for the family.’
“We put our own feelings aside and get the job done,” Perry continued. “That family atmosphere and feel of belonging and doing what is right for the students.”
It was two years ago Neal came back home after being the principal at Melrose High School in Memphis. Just like Perry, Neal came to MCHS in 2000 serving as a teacher, coach and later principal before his departure.
When he return back to his role as leader of MCHS, many people in the community championed Neal taking on a higher position in the ranks of MMSD.
“I am extremely honored and excited,” Neal said of his new job. “Superintendent Griffin has a great vision for Millington Municipal Schools. The fact that he brought me across the street to Central Office will help carry out that vision. My role primary support the three principals in the schools, all the academic departments at the Central Office.
“Which will free up Mr. Griffin to also focus on operations, politics that come along with the job, funding,” he added. “And Mr. Griffin is also an academic guy who will visit the schools. It allows all of us to be more efficient, more supportive of the people on the frontline — our teachers, our administrators and our staff which will ultimately support our students and their families.”
Perry said working alongside Neal and Griffin in the 2000s and 2010s, he has seen them work toward that mission of enriching children and putting students in the best position to succeed.
“We did coach together, had many POC meeting together,” he recalled. “We really want what is best for the students. We want to provide the student of Millington every opportunity we can.
“We’re going to consistently evaluate and reevaluate programs and make sure they’re up to date to give every student every opportunity to be successful in school. And then they move on to a career or into that college phase to be successful and be a prepared as possible.”
Perry will be a part of a trio of principals who will be the face of in-school leadership for Millington Municipal Schools starting in 2021-22 academic year.
With the decommission of E.A. Harrold Elementary, MMSD has restructured with Millington Primary School (which will serve grades Pre-K-third), Millington Intermediate School (which will serve grades fourth– sixth), and Millington Central Middle-High School (which will serve grades seventh–12th). Joining Perry in principals roles will be Patricia Speight Millington Intermediate and Christina Wilkerson with Millington Primary.
Perry said all involved have been working in the same direction with the transition for Millington Schools. Since the announcements of him being the first principal of Millington Central Middle-High School he has been pulling double duty between Millington and Bartlett.
“It’s been exciting,” he said. “Some days its been challenging. I do welcome it with the experience I had at Bartlett. Just traveling around to all the other schools and seeing how those schools are run. Then just seeing it from the Central Office side, it’s definitely going to benefit me coming into this role because I see it working there multiple years.”
Perry said seeing the work needed from the classroom to the Central Office over the years will assistant him in his new role.
“It’s been very good bringing some of that experience over,” he said. “It’s good seeing things through different lenses. There were some days I was at Bartlett part of the day and here the second half of the day. In some cases we’re having some of the same meetings. We’re talking about earning loss camp at our meeting. Then I am coming here and they’re talking about earning loss camp. It’s been every good to come in and give some input.”
Neal is still referred to as Coach Neal by many former students including assistant principal Zane Adams. It is that part of his background that give him confidence he can handle his new position with MMSD.
“Some of the best school administrators have some coaching in their background,” Neal noted. “I just think it prepares you to make decisions in the heat of the battle. On top of that, you have to have content knowledge as a teacher. You have to be proven as a teacher. Again I think some of the best teachers are coaches.
“You can’t teach specifics in a sports if you can’t break things down into laymen’s terms,” he continued. “Grab students from where they are to where you want them to be. I just think there is a strong correlation between being a effective teacher to being an effective coach to being an effective administrator.”
Neal had effective administrators who helped him transition into Deputy Superintendent the past few months. The trio of assistant principals Beth Hale and Zane Adams and Vice Principal Ben Rollins worked hard to free up Neal to learn some of his new duties.
“It was different type of challenge for me,” Neal explained. “My challenge wasn’t leaving the high school because they are great assistant principals and a vice principal who all stepped up and made that transition very easy for me.
“My major challenge was learning the Central Office nuances,” he added. “You’re more in the big vision. There are a lot more things you have to learn about mandates from the state level and federal. All of my experience had been the school level. So I had that principal lens. So the past five or six months I’ve been able to kind of grow, study, research and learn about the bigger picture. And that has allowed me to better support principals and connect all the dots from the Central Office to the schools to the students.”
While MMSD is undergoing a new historic chapter, the city of Millington is experiencing commercial growth and a residential boom. Perry said the goal is for Millington Schools to be that destination system for every child living in Flag City.
“Mr. Perry and I as well as Superintendent Griffin have proven to the community that we are truly invested,” Neal said. “Sixteen years total, I’ve committed to Millington. Mr. Perry has a similar number of years poured into this community. We look forward to being able to support families.
“We also understand it’s sometimes you have to make critical decisions and have tough conversations,” he continued. “We’re going to be able to do that without second guessing. Because the decisions we’re going to make will be based off of data and what is the best decision for our students. Ultimately what is best for our district because we want to have sustained growth. We want to be able to maximize the residential and commercial growth to the city.”
Neal said the new leadership team of MMSD and new-look school structure will be utilized properly for Millington’s future — the children.
“We have to be able to grow this district as well,” he said. “So we have to be pretty strategic with all resources and all our programs. Because as they build houses and I see the city clear land, I want every family that buys a house in Millington to choice Millington Schools.
“That’s why having Mr. Perry as a principal along with Mrs. Speight and Mrs. Wilkerson, having Superintendent Griffin I think the right team is here,” Neal concluded. “It is a collective effort here but not just from the Schools. But the School Board, Mayor and City Aldermen and all our citizens who pay taxes and support local shops here. When Superintendent Griffin says one Millington, that’s what it truly is.”
