'How can we do things better?' first-year principal asks

Jan. 27—"I'm a connector and a reflector," said Missie McKinney, and she's calling on both of those skills often as a first-year principal of the new Dalton Junior High School.

"With this many moving parts, maintaining relationships will be (important), and I view change as an opportunity for growth," said McKinney, who has spent her entire career in middle schools and high schools as a teacher and assistant principal. "Every day, I reflect on what we did well, and what we could do differently, and I think I'm really good at constantly asking 'How can we do things better?' "

McKinney has nearly three decades of education experience, including two decades in Dalton Public Schools, and she was Dalton Middle School's assistant principal for 13 years before moving over to Dalton High School. McKinney was a National Association of Secondary School Principals/Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals Assistant Principal of the Year finalist in 2017.

From the principals she's served under at both the middle and high school level McKinney learned "the importance of relationships, details and working as a team," she said. "I've always been a relational person, I've (seen) how you have to have a plan so things run smoothly, and we have to be in it together, not working in isolation."

McKinney's bachelor degree in secondary social studies is from Tennessee Tech University, and her master of education in curriculum and instruction is from the University of Mississippi, according to Dalton Public Schools. McKinney also has an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.

She knew in eighth grade she wanted to be a teacher, as her language arts teacher at Rockwood Junior High School, B.J. Kirkham — who was also her basketball coach — turned McKinney from someone who "loved reading but not writing" into someone who "loved reading and writing" through her daily enthusiasm and "out-of-the-box" teaching style, McKinney said. "She inspired me to inspire other people the way she inspired me."

McKinney's first teaching job was at Moss Point High School in Mississippi, and she's enjoyed her time in middle and high schools, an asset now as principal of a school that has eighth-graders (typically in middle school) and ninth-graders (typically in high school).

"In middle school, they get your humor, but they're still impressionable," she said. "In high school, you can have more adult conversations with them, especially about their future, because they're about to face it."

As a social studies teacher, McKinney emphasized with students that "we all have a story, and we're all history in the making," she said. "You can bring (historical) experiences to life and relate them to current times."

While teaching in Walker County, McKinney and a fellow member of her Rossville Middle School instruction team, Julie Stokes, teamed up to teach at a Dalton State College summer camp, and a group from Dalton Middle School visited the camp, she said. A counselor, impressed by their instructional aplomb, suggested they'd be valuable in Dalton Public Schools, and within a couple of years, Stokes, McKinney and McKinney's husband Jeff — now Dalton High's athletics director — were Dalton Public Schools employees.

Missie McKinney "is incredible, and she's the perfect choice" to lead the new junior high, said Stokes. She's "long been ready" to be a principal, and "it's going to be fun to watch her."

McKinney has "always been fun, and she makes (both students and staff members) feel welcome and important," Stokes added. "She empowers them."

Jeff and Missie McKinney met on a Destin, Florida, beach — "I do love the beach," she said — while they were in college at Ole Miss and Tennessee Tech, respectively, and they've been married for three decades, Missie McKinney said. Their son, Jordon, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia, works in Dalton as a salesman for Direct Packaging, while their daughter, Chandler Ouzts — a Dalton High School graduate like her brother — resides in Chattanooga with her husband Jeff, who taught seventh grade at Dalton Middle School while Missie McKinney was an assistant principal there.

"They met (later), so I always tell my daughter I knew him before you did," she said with a chuckle. "We all laugh about it all the time."

McKinney still views herself as "a teacher at heart," as she gets to teach adults through professional development, and because she's teaching teachers, "I can have an impact on more students than just the ones in my classroom," she said. "The thing I'm most excited about (as a principal) is to watch teachers grow and support them."

"I'm the type of person that, if (teachers) have an idea, let's talk about it and try it," she said. "I want them to feel free to try things that will engage students, because the more you engage them, the better off you are."

McKinney is "focused on diversity, and she knows" both teachers and students have different learning styles, so she believes in presenting multiple options, Stokes said.

"There's lots of choice with her, based on where people are coming from."

McKinney has long prioritized visiting classrooms as an administrator, and that hasn't changed now that she's a principal instead of an assistant principal.

"I love going into classrooms to stay connected with students," she said. "I want to see what they're doing."

And McKinney is "big on passion projects," Stokes said. "She's into finding out what kids are passionate about, (then) letting them pursue those passions."

Because of her experiences at Dalton Middle School and Dalton High School, McKinney was very familiar with those staff members, and "I chose (these teachers for the junior high) because they bring the skills our students need," she said. "I was not going to settle, and I know we have the right people in place."

McKinney "selected her teachers very intentionally, (prioritizing those who) love kids, number one, work hard, and create an environment where kids want to be," Stokes said. "Especially with kids (of this age), you have to engage them before they'll learn, and she's always been gifted at that."