The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

The green Green Hill of home




Kevin Dawson is the principal at the new Green Hill High School set to open in Mt. Juliet next week. He previously was the principal at West Wilson Middle School and has been working for Wilson County Schools since 2012. SUBMITTED

Kevin Dawson is the principal at the new Green Hill High School set to open in Mt. Juliet next week. He previously was the principal at West Wilson Middle School and has been working for Wilson County Schools since 2012. SUBMITTED

Green Hill High School Principal Kevin Dawson faces his most unprecedented year as an educator, leading not only a new school building but also opening school during a pandemic, requiring him to host Mt. Juliet Middle School’s seventh and eighth graders in the aftermath of a March 3 tornado.

School starts Aug. 17 at the school in Mt. Juliet on North Green Hill and Lebanon roads. The Wilson County Schools district broke ground on the school in August of 2018.

“I am eager and ready to get teacher and students in our building,” Dawson said. “We are ready to start brand new traditions here.”

Dawson has worked for Wilson County Schools since June of 2012. He was hired as a teacher at Mt. Juliet Middle School and in 2014 was named assistant principal at Wilson Central High School where he worked alongside principal Travis Mayfield. 

In 2016, while at WCHS, he was selected to take part in the Governor’s Academy for School Leadership. He moved to West Wilson Middle as principal and in January of this year began his job as Green Hill’s principal. 

The new Green Hill High School hawk logo is painted at the end of the one of the school’s hallways. SUBMITTED

The new Green Hill High School hawk logo is painted at the end of the one of the school’s hallways. SUBMITTED

“I feel honored to be named as principal of GHHS,” said Dawson. “I will miss the West Wilson faculty, students and community; the work we have done has been excellent, and we have had fun along the way. I am excited to carry that momentum and experience into the GHHS community and help build a culture of excellence.

“Travis gave me the opportunity to learn about school leadership. I had such a wonderful experience with him and at West Wilson and I love the opportunity to see the whole process come to fruition.”

Starting a school

Dawson and his team of 79 teachers and 36 staff members (including three assistant principals) have worked long hours nearly every day to navigate a plan of figuring out how to open school safely and effectively.

The three-story school has a capacity of 2,000 students. Dawson said 1,400 high school students are enrolled and 750 middle school students under the WCS plan to relocate students while West Wilson is being rebuilt.

Kevin Dawson, the principal at new Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet, said his school leadership philosophy is ‘two pillars’ — high academic standards and a culture of care. SUBMITTED

Kevin Dawson, the principal at new Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet, said his school leadership philosophy is ‘two pillars’ — high academic standards and a culture of care. SUBMITTED

“We have given them an entire wing of their own,” Dawson said. 

About 300 students zoned for GHHS have opted to start the school year virtually. That’s about 20 percent of the enrollment, he said.

“I’m not surprised,” Dawson said at this number. “It’s a little higher than I thought, but I know some may have reservations.”

Dawson said throughout this process he has kept up communication with the community and school family, and has spoken to community organizations. 

“I believe education has two pillars,” he explained. “These are high academic standards and a culture of care.”

He wants an environment where every student has value. One of his first-year goals is developing traditions for the new school.

“I want to start roots,” he said. “To have our students in a culture where they look back on this building where they got ready for the future.”

The school’s athletics program has begun with the golf team already having a match. The first football game is scheduled for Aug. 21. Students have been practicing soccer, football and cross country.

“My teachers are excited to get things going,” Dawson said. “They know we are starting new and are proud to get in front of the students.”

The school offers a unique culinary program and mechatronics engineering programs, as well as Collegiate Academy, which is a “souped-up” dual enrollment program. 

“When they graduate from this (Collegiate Academy) they have 30 hours of college credit,” said Dawson. 

The school also offers CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses.

“However, my vision is to provide for all students,” Dawson said. “Our Fine Arts are top notch with band, choir and theatre, among others.

“We believe in a whole school, whole child approach.”

And while this educator has not had any down time in a long time, when he gets a bit of free time, he said he likes the outdoors, including hiking and mountain climbing. Dawson lives in south Mt. Juliet. He and his wife, Hannah, have 9-year-old twin boys, Finn and Jack, and a 4-year-old daughter, Remy.

“I can’t wait until Aug. 17 when I get to meet the students and they get to meet me,” he said.

GREEN HILL HIGH SCHOOL

Location: 220 N. Greenhill Road, at the intersection of Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet

Size: A total campus footprint of approximately 415,000 square feet, which includes all facilities on campus, on the 60-acre site. It is the largest facility in the Wilson County Schools district.

Cost: The budget for the project, including bonds, was approximately $107 million. 

Capacity: Student capacity is approximately 2,000.

  • For a look at Green Hill High School’s athletic facilities, go to Page B1.

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