Orange County Schools has chosen former Wake County principal Jan Hargrove to serve as interim principal at A.L. Stanback Middle School. The Indy reported last month that the school’s current principal, Gloria Jones, is stepping down following complaints from parents and staff who accused her of blocking the formation of a school Gay-Straight Alliance for more than two years.
Jones will remain as the school’s administrator through November. She did not say why she is resigning, but members of the system’s Board of Education publicly criticized the principal for her handling of the LGBT support group this year.
The club, which met for the first time last spring, fit in four meetings before Jones announced a new policy banning non-academic clubs such as the GSA during school hours. School staff said Jones indicated the new policy was ordered by Orange County Schools’ central office staff, but Interim Superintendent Del Burns told the Indy that was untrue.
Hargrove is currently the interim principal at Grady A. Brown Elementary in Hillsborough. “It’s all about relationships and communication,” Hargrove said in a statement. “Honoring the teachers and families here is important to me.”
