Richardson named new PE assistant principal

Barry Richardson has been named assistant principal at Philadelphia Elementary School.

Richardson has 16 years in the education field. He is going into his third year with the Philadelphia Public School District having worked the past two years as a teacher and athletic director.

Though Richardson has never worked in elementary schools, he believes he will bring in a different perspective that will help move the students forward.

“This will be new for me, there is no doubt,” Richardson said. “But after teaching for years on the middle school and high school levels, I have insight into what skills our students will need when they advance to the upper grades. Elementary school is where everything starts. If the foundation here for each student is not well developed, then it is a constant battle as the child progresses throughout the system, trying to get them where they need to be because something was missed earlier.

“A middle school or high school teacher can tell you, ‘I need my students to be able to do this, this and that, and I can take it from here,’” Richardson said.

Richardson is from Philadelphia. He attended the Philadelphia schools in grades 1-9. He attended one year at Forest High School and finished at Neshoba Central.

He went on to graduate from East Central and received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Mississippi State University. He received his specialist certificate from Arkansas State.

Previously, Richardson has taught at the Scott County Vocational Center, Scott Central, Noxapater and Neshoba Central.

He said reading is a top priority.

“We will have a lot of focus on our reading and language arts and of course the math falls into it,” Richardson said. “But with today’s testing requirements, if a student can’t read, it won’t matter what else they can do because even the math tests are all reading questions.”

Richardson was appointed to his new position a couple of weeks ago and said he is looking forward to getting to know the staff. Principal Melisha Hancock said she was glad to have him joining her team.

“I have worked with him and have seen him in his role as AD and teacher,” Hancock said. “He is very organized and very driven. He’s a hard worker and has an interest in seeing our school being successful. I think he is a good fit for what we are trying to accomplish at the elementary school.”