Guilford County Schools names three new principals for next school year

Three Guilford County schools will start the next school year with new principals, putting new leaders in charge of academic recovery, school culture and parent communication at Foust Elementary, Southeast Middle and Alamance Elementary. Guilford County Schools announced the appointments June 9 after a Board of Education work session at the Community Education Center in Greensboro, and the changes take effect July 1, 2026.

At Foust Elementary, Gabrielle Hall arrives with a résumé built around instruction and intervention. Hall most recently served as executive director of curriculum and instruction at Durham Public Schools, where she helped schools develop, implement and monitor academic intervention plans for students with academic concerns. She also spent two years as principal at Western Alamance Middle School and four years as an assistant principal in Guilford County Schools, giving Foust a leader who already knows the district and has managed a school campus from the principal’s chair.

Southeast Middle will be led by Emily Stevenson, who had been an assistant principal at Eastern High since 2022 and was named Guilford County Schools’ 2025 Assistant Principal of the Year. Her work at Eastern Guilford High School centered on data-driven instruction, evaluation and feedback for the math and social studies departments, student focus groups and the RISE, or Reimagining Schools Everywhere, program. For Southeast families, Stevenson’s promotion signals a focus on measurable academic work and student engagement, not just a change in title.

Olivia Stone’s move to principal at Alamance Elementary gives the school a leader with deep roots on campus and in the district. Stone has worked in Guilford County Schools for 21 years, including 15 years as a special education teacher and four years as a school administrator. District records credit her leadership with helping improve the school performance grade in 2025 and reducing office referrals by 25 percent, a combination that matters to parents watching both academic results and day-to-day behavior. She was named Alamance Teacher of the Year in 2010 and a North Carolina Teacher of Excellence in 2011.

The district’s choice to elevate Hall, Stevenson and Stone reflects a broader emphasis on instructional leadership and continuity before the new year begins. Hall holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of South Carolina, Stevenson from North Carolina State University, Liberty University and Appalachian State University, and Stone from Liberty University and UNCG. For families, the real test begins in August, when each principal has to turn that background into steadier classrooms, clearer expectations and a school year that starts with confidence.