Chris Murray named Bate principal

Published 6:17 am Friday, October 19, 2018

Dr. Chris Murray, current assistant principal at Danville High School has been named the new principal for John W. Bate Middle School. He is replacing Bate principal Sheri Satterly who is moving into the position of assistant superintendent of Danville Schools.

Murray joined DHS as assistant principal in July of 2017.

A special meeting of the Bate Site-Based Decision Making council was called Wednesday afternoon to hear superintendent Dr. Tammy Sheldon’s recommendation to hire Murray.

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The SBDM decided to forego the normal, sometimes lengthy, hiring process and try the quicker, “alternative” principal selection process where the superintendent recommends only one candidate for the council to consider.

Sheldon said the alternative process was used because the council was concerned there wouldn’t be enough strong candidates applying for the position this late in the school year.

Following a closed meeting where only one candidate was discussed, Sheldon said she viewed all applications received during the 15-day posting period and “deeply vetted” several of the strongest candidates before recommending Murray.

“Chris was literally the strongest candidate. He was the shining star in the pool of applicants,” Sheldon said.

The SBDM had the option of either accepting Sheldon’s recommendation or denying it and beginning the traditional hiring process.

“I’m honored and humbled,” Murray said after the announcement. “I’m going to help Bate get to the next level,” by continuing a focus on instruction and making sure students are “transition ready” for high school, both socially and academically.