Principal
Quitman High School has started this school year under the leadership of a new principal, Tommy Molden.
He has recently remarried, and the couple has a combined total of five children, ages ranging from 10 to 29.
Mr. Molden is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and has been in education for over 23 years, and for the majority of that time, he has served as a school administrator.
“I taught for a very short time. It wasn’t designed to be that way,” stated Mr. Molden. “I actually received my Master’s Degree in Administration from Clarke Atlanta University where I also received my undergraduate degree. I thought since I had my degree in educational leadership that I may as well try to become an assistant principal. I knew that I was supposed to have around four years of experience, so I was going to interviews to basically see what it would be like to go through that interview process. Low and behold I got a job at a school on the outskirts of Atlanta.”
He moved to Mississippi in the 2001-2002 school year where he was in Natchez for a little while before moving to Moss Point.
“I was the principal for the middle school and high school while in Moss Point,” said Mr. Molden. “I have extensive experience working in all three levels of school: elementary, middle, and high school.”
While in Mississippi, Mr. Molden continued his own education and received his Specialist Degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Throughout his years in education, Mr. Molden has been the recipient of multiple awards, but there is one award that means the most because of the work it took to receive it.
“I’ve gotten Principal of the Month and Principal of the Year before,” stated Mr. Molden. “Principal of the Month actually meant more to me because I was the first one to get it at the district I came from. The reason I got it was because our school showed so much growth on the state assessment the year before. It had a lot more accountability attached to it than the other did. I wasn’t trying to get it. I was just trying to do what was best for the children and then ended up with that.”
Now, Mr. Molden is bringing some of his ideas and determination to Quitman High School. Before coming, he has assessed the data that the school has and looked at the concerns teachers have provided on a survey at the end of the last school year so that he can develop a plan of action for the school year. He only wants to do what is best for his teachers and students so that they can learn in the best possible environment.
“Quitman High School has done a good job so far on accountability. They’ve shown some growth,” admired Mr. Molden. “As a principal coming in, I want to continue that growth and exceed what they’ve done before. We plan to take a closer look at the data and have teachers and students understand what they need to do and how they need to do it. We want students to understand where they are at this point and what they need to do to show growth on the accountability model. I looked at a survey that was done by teachers before I got here and see where they had a concern about things such as the amount of discipline referrals, so we’re going to do some things to help settle that down a little. We’re going to be fair and consistent to everyone: teachers and students. There’s a role that teachers, students, and administrators play in that, so we’re going to look at all three roles and see what can be done a little differently to decrease those discipline referrals and types of referrals coming to the office so that everything can run smoothly in the classroom.”
His first year at the high school will definitely be unique since the year is starting in the middle of a pandemic. Despite that obstacle, Mr. Molden has a plan in place and has acknowledged that a traditional day will now look and feel different to what a normal school day would be.
“With Covid, a lot of things are going to have to be done differently from how a normal school day is run,” explained Mr. Molden. “We’re starting out virtually. When we first come back in person, we’ll be doing four days in class and one day virtual, so that will be done a little differently too. Things will look a little different when the students come back in the school. There will be different barriers in place and signs to remind them to stay six feet apart.”
He is looking forward to what this school year has to bring and truly loves his job. His love for his job pushes him to strive to be better every single day, and that is the same goal he has for the school.
“I like being a principal. There’s nothing like coming to work and knowing that every day is going to be different. I wake up in the morning and can’t wait to get here,” stated Mr. Molden. “My goal for this school is to make them even better. They’ve already done a great job, but everybody can always get even better no matter how good they already are.”
Quitman High School has a very enthusiastic leader who is ready to take on this school year no matter what uncharted territory he will have to go through. The school is thrilled to have him and looks forward to a great year.
Vice Principal
Dr. Temekia Lyons is joining Panther Nation as the new vice principal at Quitman High School.
She believes in education and has two little boys that she loves to spend time with when she is not at work: Kayden and Jackson.
Dr. Lyons has received multiple degrees over the years and does everything she can to both broaden her education and provide a quality education to those around her. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Promotion from the University of Southern Mississippi, both a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of West Alabama, and her Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Augusta University in Atlanta.
Her strong education and background has caused her to be able to do some honorary things.
“I was the keynote speaker in the college in Atlanta that I went to for the doctorate residencies,” said Dr. Lyons. “I also had to be a lecturer for a research symposium where I talked about my dissertation.”
She has served various positions in education over the years.
“This is my tenth year in education. I started out as a Special Education (SPED) teacher in Bay Springs,” explained Dr. Lyons. “I did that for a couple of years, and then I went to Laurel where I served as the media specialist, chairperson of the electives committee, was on the leadership team, and I was over testing. I did that for about seven years. After that, I went to teach history at the high school for a little while. I ended up going back to the school I was at because they didn’t have anyone to do testing, and my principal begged me to come back.”
Knowing she would like to go into administration, Dr. Lyons took a different position this past year so that she could learn updated information in the schools and be better prepared as an administrator.
“I knew I was going into administration, and I knew special education has changed over the years,” stated Dr. Lyons. “What I wanted to do was go back and learn more about SPED, so this past year I was an inclusion teacher because I wanted to learn the new laws of SPED and how it operated.”
Alongside her job as an administrator, Dr. Lyons is a professor.
“I’m an adjunct professor at Belhaven,” explained Dr. Lyons. “Most of my courses are for individuals trying to become certified teachers. I teach classes such as classroom management, measurement evaluation, content area literacy, and issues
