Dear Douglas MacArthur Elementary School Parents, Guardians and Community Members,

Today, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. would like to share with you that he has selected Penny Hairston, former Douglas MacArthur administrative intern and current assistant principal at James K. Polk Elementary School, to be the new principal of Douglas MacArthur Elementary School. 

Hairston, who will start in her new role as principal on July 1, rejoins MacArthur after serving five years as assistant principal at James K. Polk Elementary School. She previously served four years as an administrative intern at Douglas MacArthur from 2011 to 2015 and has over two decades of teaching and administrative experience.

Hairston began her career in education in 1996, serving as a fourth and fifth grade teacher who helped to open Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School in 2000. She was selected as an administrative intern with ACPS in 2011 for James K. Polk and Douglas MacArthur. She served in the administrative intern role at James K. Polk and Douglas MacArthur Elementary Schools until her appointment in 2015 as assistant principal at Polk, where she currently works.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and education and received her Masters in Educational Leadership in 2007 from the University of Mary Washington. 

You will have the opportunity to meet Ms. Hairston in July. 

For the full news release, please see the New Principal announcement page. We will provide an update on Mrs. Hairston’s transition plan next week. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Stephen Wilkins
Chief Human Resources Officer

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