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.
Hope Henson -Assistant Principal
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.
Ryan Branch - Assistant Principal
Mr. Branch is a graduate of Tift County High School and he is from Chula, GA. He is engaged to Rebecca Donohue of Canton, GA. Mr. Branch has two children: Mackenzie, 23 a First Year Educator and Josh 20, a Master Welding Technician.
Mr. Branch had been in education for over twenty-six years and holds multiple degrees. He holds a degree in Secondary Education with certifications in Broad-Field Social Sciences and Health and Physical Education from Valdosta State University. Mr. Branch also holds a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and a Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
Mr. Branch has been a teacher, coach and leader at various levels of education. He has been a head coach in multiple sports including football, boys and girls track and girls basketball. He has served as Athletics Director, Principal and Assistant Principal throughout his twenty-six years.
This is his first year in Gilmer County.