Lawson
With 30 years of experience in Bradley and Hamilton county schools, Brittingham said he had been toying with the idea of retiring for the past year. It became official two weeks ago.
“I plan on spending a lot more time with family,” Brittingham said in a phone interview Friday.
Travel will also be a part of his retirement plans. Brittingham said he has family spread out from Charleston, S.C., to Lexington, Ky., and will enjoy the opportunity to visit them more often. He also hopes to spend more time on the golf course.
Brittingham spent the last three years of his career as the principal of Michigan Avenue Elementary School. He said he will continue with the school system in a part-time role working with data and technology.
Lawson is the former principal of Blue Springs Elementary School, and has served as evaluation specialist for Bradley County Schools since the closing of the school.
“She exhibited outstanding leadership characteristics when Blue Springs was devastated by tornadoes on April 27, 2011,” Bradley County Director of Schools Johnny McDaniel said in a press release. “She led her faculty and students with care and compassion as personnel and students were reassigned and the school was eventually closed. She will bring these strong characteristics of leadership and caring to the position at Michigan Avenue.”
In addition to serving as principal of Blue Springs, Lawson has also served as an assistant principal and an interim principal at Michigan Avenue, according to a Bradley County Schools press release.
“I am excited to return to Michigan Avenue Elementary,” Lawson said in a press release. “I look forward to reconnecting with the students, parents, faculty and staff. Together we will continue to focus on academic achievement and the development of the whole child in a safe environment that encourages creativity and leadership.”
Lawson has worked in the Bradley County Schools system since 2005. She became principal of Blue Springs in 2010.
“I have had the privilege to work with Ms. Lawson in several different roles and have always found her to be a true professional,” said Sheena Newman, Supervisor of Elementary Instruction, in a press release. “I watched her leadership skills shine during a very difficult situation. She took on the role of a servant leader after the devastation of the April 2011 storm.s ... Her knowledge of elementary education and her creativity will be a winning combination at MAS, where excellence is a tradition.”
Michigan Avenue and Blue Springs elementary schools were the two county schools directly affected by the April 2011 tornadoes.
