LOW MOOR — Chris Jones has been appointed principal of Sharon Elementary School, effective July 1,2023.
Jones’ appointment was approved by the Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division Board during its monthly business meeting. Jones is currently an assistant principal at Covington High School.
At Sharon, he will succeed Ty Dobbs, who will become AHPS’ activities director on July 1. Dobbs has been principal at Sharon since July 2019. In his role as division activities director, he will lead athletics and other student activities for the division. The role has elevated responsibilities and will leverage his leadership skills honed as a principal.
Jones, who has worked at Covington High School since 2016 as an assistant principal and football coach, was named to the Sharon post after a committee interviewed a pool of well-qualified candidates. In approving the appointment, the School Board followed the committee’s recommendation.
“The school board is excited for Mr. Jones to make his transition to principal of Sharon Elementary. He has been an integral part of our school community for the better part of a decade and I know he will do well,” said AHPS School Board Chair Jacob Wright.
Prior to becoming an administrator with the former Covington City Public Schools Division, Jones taught special education and physical education in several Virginia school divisions, including Bath County, Franklin County, Lynchburg, Sussex County, and Staunton City. He was in Bath County from 2000-2002. Jones continued to serve at Covington High School after Covington City Public Schools merged with Alleghany County Public Schools in July 2022 to form Alleghany Highlands Public Schools.
In addition to serving as assistant principal and varsity football coach during his time at CHS, Jones was the school’s athletic director for one year.
Jones graduated from Concord University in Athens, W.Va., in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and a Bachelor of Science interdisciplinary degree in education/physical education. In 1995, he received an endorsement from Bluefield College in health for grades K-12. Jones received a master’s degree in physical education from Old Dominion University in 2006. He received an endorsement in educational leadership, preschool-12, from Concord in 2014.
“A tradition of academic excellence has been established at Sharon, and my goal is to continue that tradition. It is something to be very proud of. I look forward to working with the entire Sharon community,” Jones said.
Jones’ appointment to the Sharon principalship comes during an important transition year for AHPS. Schools will fully consolidate in the fall, with the biggest changes coming on the secondary school level. Covington High School will become the school division’s middle school, housing grades 6-8. It will be named Covington Middle School. Alleghany High School will serve students in grades 9-12.
No elementary school will close under the consolidation, but grades 6-7 at Jeter-Watson Elementary School will be moved to Covington Middle School. Sixth through eighth grade students that would have attended Clifton Middle School in Alleghany County Public Schools and eighth grade students who would have attended Covington High School in Covington City Public Schools will also attend Covington Middle School.
“Chris will bring a wealth of skills and educational experiences from his career to the students, families, and staff of Sharon Elementary School. He will continue the strong Sharon traditions of academic success with family and community engagement. We are most excited for his appointment as the Sharon Elementary principal,” said Kim Halterman and Melinda Snead-Johnson, leaders of AHPS.
With approximately 2,700 students, the Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division is jointly funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington. School division news and events are regularly updated on Facebook at AHPublic Schools, and on the division website, www.ahps.k12.va.us.
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