Administration

Sarah West - Principal


 Sarah West - Principal

Born and raised in Gilmer County, Mrs. West has been in the education field for 15 years.  She, her husband (Brady), and children (Halle and Ty) live here in Ellijay.  Brady is a local business owner in Gilmer County.  Halle is a seventh grader at Clear Creek Middle School, and she enjoys running cross country, and playing basketball and golf.  Ty is a 3rd grader at Clear Creek Elementary School, and he enjoys playing basketball, baseball and football.

Mrs. West was a 2003 graduate of Gilmer High School.  She attended The University of Georgia where she received her Bachelor of Science in Education (2007) and earned a Master of Education degree in 2008.   In 2010, she received her Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Lincoln Memorial University.  In 2018, she received her certification in Educational Leadership from The University of West Georgia.

Mrs. West taught Mathematics and Social Studies at Gilmer Middle School from 2008-2017.  During that stint, she held extracurricular duties such as student council sponsor, assistant basketball coach, and head softball coach.  In the fall of 2017, she had the opportunity to work with teachers at Mountain View Elementary School in Ellijay as the Academic Coach.  In October of 2017, she became the assistant principal of Clear Creek Middle School until her tenure began as principal of Clear Creek Middle School in 2022.

She is extremely excited to continue to invest in her own community as the principal of Clear Creek Middle School.




Mr. Todd Gearhart, Assistant Principal

Mr. Gearhart is extremely blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community and school system. Although not originally from Gilmer county, Mr. Gearhart has lived in Ellijay for 18 years. He is married to his wife Jessica, a Gilmer native, and has two sons, Hudson and Carter. Jessica is an ESOL teacher at Gilmer High School. Hudson and Carter also attend Gilmer High School. As a family, they enjoy spending time with each other, going on vacations, attending church, and relaxing by the pool. 

This will be the start of Mr. Gearhart’s 21st year in education and his first full year at Clear Creek Middle School. He previously served as Assistant Principal at Gilmer High School, Gilmer Middle, and Ellijay Primary School. Prior to his work in Gilmer County, Mr. Gearhart taught at Pleasant Grove Elementary in Whitfield County. His teaching experience included 1st grade and Early Intervention in grades K, 1st, 4th, and 5th. With a passion for early literacy, he was trained by Georgia State in the Reading Recovery Program where he served 1st grade students for 5 years. He started his administrative career as Assistant Principal at Antioch and Varnell Elementary in Whitfield County. 

After graduating from Northwest High School in Whitfield county, he attended West Georgia University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. Mr. Gearhart went on to complete his Masters Degree and Educational Specialist Degree in Leadership from Kennesaw State University. Mr. Gearhart is also Reading and ESOL endorsed. He is looking forward to leading the staff and students at Clear Creek Middle in order to fulfill our mission of promoting academic excellence and success for ALL. 


Hope Henson -Assistant Principal

 

Hope Henson

Mrs. Henson is a graduate of Gilmer High School, and she and her family still live in Ellijay. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Chris, for 22 years. They have two beautiful girls, Mallory and Mia. Her family enjoys spending time outdoors, so you will only catch her inside while at work! 

After graduating with a degree in Early Childhood Education from Kennesaw State University, Mrs. Henson went on to obtain her Masters Degree from Piedmont University. She also holds endorsements in the following areas: ESOL (English as a second language), STEM (science, technology, engineering, and technology), gifted education, and academic coaching. 

Mrs. Henson spent most of time teaching Fifth grade Math and Science before moving into the academic coach position at Ellijay Elementary School. This will be her second year serving as assistant principal at Clear Creek Middle School.