Keams tapped to lead high school

When students return to the classrooms at Choctaw Central High School, they will have a new principal, and he won’t be a stranger.

Warrior alumnus Alaric Teams has officially been named principal of Choctaw Central, where he was a student, teacher and coach. He has been in administration in recent years, serving as assistant principal at Pearl River Elementary. Last March, he came to the high school as interim principal. He was there one week before the schools were closed because of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Now he is the school’s official principal.

“It is a great feeling,” Keams said. “It is something I wanted to do once I went to college. When I first came back, I thought I would be coaching for a while. But that came to a halt quick after I got my administration degree. This is something I want to do. I want to give back for what I have learned over the years. I felt like this was the right place to do that.”

Keams is a lifelong resident of the Pearl River Community. He graduated from Choctaw Central High School in 2009. Keams went on to East Central Community College and then went to Belhaven College where he received his Bachelor’s degree.

He played football in high school and college.

 Keams returned to Belhaven to earn a Master’s degree. He went on to earn his Specialist degree from Mississippi State University in 2018.

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree, he returned as a teacher to Choctaw Central. He was also a coach, assisting in football and soccer and serving as the head baseball coach.

Keams knows many of his students personally. He has numerous cousins attending Choctaw Central. He said that when the bell rings and school is in session, they will be treated like everyone else.

“If they see me out in the community, we can talk and visit,” Keams said. “But when they see me over here, it is a different story. They don’t want to come in my office (with problems.)

The back-to-school dates have not been announced by the Choctaw Tribal Schools. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have suffered greatly because of the COVID-19 and the virus is still spreading.

It is likely the schools may be using distance learning when the classes get under way. Keams said some of the students have access to Internet in their homes; some don’t.”

“We are starting to get more technology based with our learning,” Keams said. “We have some WiFi put into our schools, around our parking lots. So our kids can drive up and download any kind of materials they need.

“Right now, that’s all I can say about it. I am not sure about our plans going forward at this time,” Keams said.

There are other questions. Choctaw Central has always been a dormitory school but will that be available this year? And what about the sports? There have been no practices for football or basketball this summer because of the virus.

“I get calls from our coaches, asking for an update,” Keams said. “We are moving toward that. We have put our plans in and now we are waiting for approval. When we get approval, we’ll start preparations for the season.

“We have to be smart about this. All it takes is one and it can spread to the whole team.”

Choctaw Central students are no strangers to technology. Their curriculum is very technology oriented with the robotic competition, computers, Internet and other classes.

“This helps us,” Keams said. “Our kids are more technology savvy.”

Angel Hibbler and Jimmy Jim are the assistant principals.

When Keams has free time, he likes to play golf. He said he likes to play at the Dancing Rabbit twice a week. He also likes to fish.