Iredell-Statesville Schools School & Family Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 9

Keeley Ward - Celeste Henkel Elementary School
Keeley Ward began her career with Iredell-Statesville Schools in
2001 as an English Language Arts teacher at North Iredell Middle
School. In 2007, Ms. Ward became the literacy coach at Statesville
Middle School, where she provided teachers and administrators with
professional learning on the use of student data, including identifying
trends and gaps in student mastery of content and how to develop
targeted plans. At Northview IB in 2010, Ms. Ward served as the IB
Coordinator and Instructional Facilitator, preparing her to accept the role
of assistant principal at Celeste Henkel Elementary in January of 2014.
Ms. Ward received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from
Catawba College in 2001 and Master of Arts in Middle Grades
Education in 2006 from Appalachian State University.
Serving the Celeste Henkel community comes easily to Ms. Ward. “I genuinely love Celeste’s family
culture and students first mindset. I know the value of and have already established trusting relationships
and respect with the students, staff and community. I am super excited about the direction Celeste is
moving with our STEM initiative! It’s an honor and a blessing to be selected to serve as principal.”
Hans Lassiter - Statesville High School
On Monday, August 7, 2017, Statesville High School’s new
principal was named. Mr. Hans Lassiter received his Bachelor of Arts
degree from North Carolina A&T in 1989. He furthered his education
with a Master of Arts degree from NC Central University, a Masters of
School Administration, and an Education Specialist degree, both from
North Carolina State University. He is currently a doctoral student at
NC State University.
Throughout his educational career, he has served as a high school
teacher and high school principal.
​ r. Lassiter has also worked for DPI as a school transformation
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coach and has experience at central office as a public information
officer and chief human resources officer.
According to Mr. Lassiter, one of his proudest and most rewarding experiences came when he was
principal of Hillside High School in Durham Public Schools. During his four-year tenure as principal,
Hillside improved their End of Course composite score from 45.2% to 66.4%. The school also improved its
graduation rate during this time from 52.4% to 75%.
Mr. Lassiter is a passionate educator, who focuses on building relationships with the faculty and staff,
setting high expectations for all students, and developing effective partnerships within the community. As
a veteran teacher, he has a keen interest in curriculum and instruction. Mr. Lassiter commented, after the
confirmation of his appointment, “I am excited to be a part of the Statesville High School team.”
Iredell-Statesville School & Family 7