When the construction of Columbus Middle School was underway, Principal Cindy Wamble was intimately involved in every aspect of the process, from choosing the paint colors and classroom design to haggling with then-Superintendent Dr. Del Phillips over the entrance location, she jokingly recalled last April following Phillips’ resignation.
Now, Wamble is leaving the district as well. She was the first key holder for the state-of-the-art middle school, but at the end of the school year, she will slip that key from its ring and replace it with a new one as she retires from the public education system and takes the helm as principal of Heritage Elementary.
Wamble replaces Heritage Elementary Principal Yandell Harris, who is leaving at the end of the school year to accept a headmaster position at Oak Hill Academy in West Point.
“Mrs. Wamble is an administrator who has provided outstanding leadership and vision as principal of Columbus Middle School,” said Janet Lewis, public information officer for the Columbus Municipal School District.
Tuesday, Heritage Academy Board President Tim Upton announced Wamble’s hiring as well as that of Dr. Greg Carlyle, who will replace Headmaster Tommy Gunn at the end of the school year. Gunn is leaving to accept a position as headmaster of Marshall Academy in Holly Springs.
Upton announced both resignations at the end of March, and the job openings were listed on the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools website.
“We feel very blessed that we were able to obtain such proven professionals with a wealth of experience to continue Heritage’s reputation for academic excellence,” Upton said in a released statement Tuesday.
Wamble has served in the Columbus Municipal School District 24 years, and she taught five years at Heritage Academy.
She was the first principal of Columbus Middle School, which opened in January 2011 after the merger of Hunt Intermediate School and Lee Middle School, where she previously served as principal. She was also named the district’s Administrator of the Year in 2007 and 2011 and Hunt Middle School Teacher of the Year in 1985.
She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and holds a master’s degree in instructional management and curriculum from Mississippi University for Women.
She is married to Jim Wamble, and they have two sons, James and Andrew, who are graduates of Heritage.
Heritage Academy’s new headmaster, Carlyle, is a native of Ontario, Canada but graduated from Mississippi State University with a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership.
He comes to Heritage with more than 20 years’ experience, including 12 years as a principal — six years at the elementary level and six years at the secondary level. He has also worked as a high school teacher and elementary curriculum coordinator.
He has served since 1995 in the Choctaw Tribal School District of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. He has also worked as an educator at MSU and in Costa Rica.
He is married to the former Ann Marie Buckner of Starkville. They have three children: Alex, 16, Andrew, 14, and Emma, 13.
Neither Wamble nor Caryle could be reached Tuesday for comment.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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