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Spencer with THS assistant principal Brooke Barron and SMS assistant principal Kevin O'Rear at a recent conference in Birmingham
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Spencer to take over at SMS
By Michael Butler
On Thursday night, the Tallassee Board of Education introduced Brittany Spencer as the next principal at Southside Middle School. Spencer will take over for Tim Collier, who is retiring at the end of the current school year after serving three years in the same capacity.
"I feel very fortunate to be in a position to retire," said Collier - a 1989 THS graduate, "especially from the school I attended in the early 80s and the school I started my teaching and coaching career 25 years ago.
"I plan to do some renovations/improvements at home and travel a bit in the summer and fall before pursuing a second career early in 2024. I'm very appreciative of the relationships and opportunities that TCS has afforded me through the years and I wish the SMS students and staff nothing but the best moving forward."
Spencer is also a Tallassee graduate (2009). At 32, she already has ten years in the Tallassee system, the past four as assistant principal at Tallassee Elementary.
"It's an honor to serve my community," Spencer said. "I never dreamed that I would be a principal at the middle school level because I do come from the elementary side of things, but I'm excited to learn and grow in that capacity."
Spencer will continue to work at TES for the remainder of the school year but also - when time permits - do some shadowing of Collier at SMS.
"I do want to be involved over the spring at Southside but still close that chapter at Tallassee Elementary," she said. "I plan to be the best I can be at juggling both. Technically the job starts July 1, but I do plan to be heavily involved at Southside."
Four years of Spencer's work at Tallassee was as a fourth grade teacher. In addition, she has worked at SMS as an instructional coach and leader with the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program.
Tallassee City Schools Superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin said there were 19 candidates for the principal's position.
"Out of those, there were nine or ten qualified with three years experience in administration," said Nolin. "We put together a panel of teachers at Southside to review the applications. We whittled it down to two and interviewed those two. Mrs. Spencer was the one who came out on top."
Spencer is ready for the next step.
"I want to build on the success that's already there. I want to bring everyone up to their potential. I've seen and watched these teachers work for years at Southside. Ultimately, my goal is to move our report card score as high as we can get it. I'm definitely a numbers person. I spend a lot of time looking at all the ways we can make movements in those areas. I'm excited to dig into the data with the teachers and let them be a part of that process and move the school forward."
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