New leaders are being promoted from within the ranks of Guilford County Schools. The district named a new principal supervisor and four new principals, as well as four principals who will move to new locations.
Jennifer Cooper will become principal supervisor for Zone 6, supervising elementary principals. She has been principal at Millis Road Elementary since 2020 and was a finalist for principal of the year in 2024-25. During her time at Millis Road, the school has met academic growth for the past three years. Cooper holds bachelor’s degrees in special and elementary education from East Carolina University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from High Point University.
Maggie Dowling will become principal at Millis Road Elementary. Dowling has been an assistant principal at Southwest Elementary since 2024 and spent a year as an assistant principal at Pilot Elementary. As assistant principal, she supported the school through data analysis, scheduling, professional development and strategic planning. She holds bachelor's degrees in special and elementary education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and a master’s degree in executive leadership from Gardner-Webb University.
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Jennifer Vega-Prieto will become the principal at Kirkman Park Elementary. She has served as assistant principal at Allen Middle since 2020 and was a finalist for assistant principal of the year in 2024-25. As an assistant principal, she implemented parent outreach programs to increase family engagement among Spanish-speaking families by 20 percent. Vega-Prieto holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from UNCG and a master’s degree in educational administration from Grand Canyon University.
Alexander Wertz will become principal at the Early College at Guilford. Wertz has been an assistant principal at Southwest High since 2023, where he has led efforts to increase the graduation rate by 1.3 percentage points from 93.3 in 2022-23 to 94.6 in 2023-24. He also worked to support English II proficiency, resulting in the school exceeding growth in that area with a proficiency rate of 63.8 percent in 2024-25. He holds bachelor’s degrees in English and secondary education from UNCG and a master’s degree in school administration from Appalachian State University.
Karen Williams-Dick will become principal at Kearns Academy. Williams-Dick is an assistant principal at Eastern High and has twice been a finalist for assistant principal of the year. At Eastern High, she spearheaded the freshman academy, which has resulted in more students earning credit in both Math I and English I and a ninth-to-10th grade promotion rate of 91 percent. Williams-Dick holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bennett College, a master’s degree in chemistry from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a master’s degree in school administration from UNCG.
In addition to these appointments, four GCS principals will transfer to other school locations.
Nicholas Dixon, who was hired as a principal in April from his current position at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, will become principal at Mendenhall Middle.
All personnel changes will be effective July 1, 2026.
