Bill Graham / The Meridian StarNew administrators at Northeast Lauderdale High School are Assistant Principal Jacob Drury and Principal Josh Herrington.

Northeast Lauderdale High School is starting the academic year with new administrators.

Principal Josh Herrington and Assistant Principal Jacob Drury both come from Meridian High School, where they worked as assistant principals.

“It feels great, I’m a product of the Lauderdale County School District,” Herrington said. “To come from and be part of a school system that I graduated from and my wife graduated from, it’s a great privilege.”

“Education is something I wanted to go in at a young age,” Herrington added. “Both of my parents are educators and always had a passion to work with youth.”

Drury replaces Emily Lee, who is now an assistant principal at Clarkdale Elementary School.

“I decided to become an educator because of a coach in high school,” Drury said. “He was my English teacher and my basketball coach and I followed in his footsteps and kind of wanted to make an impact on students’ lives.”

Both Herrington and Drury have eight years of experience in education, include coaching, teaching and leadership roles.

Some goals they hope to accomplish this year are providing a safe environment for students and staff, empowering teachers and preparing students for life after high school.

“We want to make sure every kid leaves here with an opportunity to be successful, whether that’s going to college or a career,” Drury said.

“There are so many kids that I know they need to be in school,” Drury added. “They need to be around a teacher as their mentor. Our kids need us.”

Herrington said students can also expect high standards.

“We are going to treat them like they are in college,” he said. “We’re going to set high expectations and we are going to be consistent. We are not going to change from day to day.”

And even though students are returning to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Herrington is looking ahead to a good year.

“I feel like the Lord has prepared me for this – it was a prayerful decision,” Herrington said. “I’d be lot more nervous if I didn’t have Mr. Drury here with me.”