As we prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, we welcome our newest district team member, our assistant superintendent. I caught up with Dr. Tim Wright to learn more about the new guy in town.......turns out he is not so new after all! Like so many of our great MCS Staff, Dr. Wright grew up right here in Murray County.
He grew up in Tennga, GA, and attended Murray County Schools throughout his childhood. A proud alumnus of Northwest Elementary, a member of the first 7th-grade class at Bagley Middle School, and a 1995 graduate of Murray County High School. His college career began at Dalton State and he graduated from The State University of West Georgia with a degree in Early Childhood Education in 1999. He continued his education at Tusculum University to obtain a master's degree, and soon after that, became a National Board-certified teacher. He completed his doctorate degree in Leadership and Administration from Liberty University in 2009.
His journey as an educator began in 1999 as a 5th-grade teacher in Whitfield County Schools at Cohutta Elementary. He taught 4th and 5th grades at Cohutta for 12 years before moving into the role of instructional coach, and then assistant principal. Six years later he was named the principal at Cohutta Elementary where he served as principal for three years, before being asked to move to Pleasant Grove Elementary to be the principal. He served there for three years before accepting his new role as Assistant Superintendent of Murray County Schools for the 2023-2024 school year.
He currently lives in Dalton with his wife, Jennifer, and they have been blessed with wonderful children. Their son Jarrod and his wife live in Spring Place, their middle daughter Abby is a junior at UGA (Go Dawgs!!), and their youngest daughter Kaylee will be a senior at Southeast Whitfield High next year. They are very active at Welcome Hill Baptist Church working with the youth and teaching Sunday School. Dr. Wright said, "I enjoy spending time with my family and traveling. I'm a huge music fan, so if you see me out, I'm usually singing a Prince or Tauren Wells tune. We love cheering on all of our Atlanta/Georgia sports teams. We've been long-suffering Falcons, Braves, Hawks, and Dawgs fans, so we're enjoying some recent successes and hoping for more in the future! (Looking at you, Falcons and Hawks...)"
When asked about returning to Murray County Schools, Dr. Wright said, "I'm very excited to be back working where my school life started as a student. A big reason I became an educator is the fact that I was blessed with great teachers throughout my career. I worked hard as a teacher to show my students the love and care, my teachers showed me, and that attitude has carried over into my time as an administrator as I've tried to model for my teachers the type of leader I want every child to have in his/her classroom. Our focus is the students, and I'm excited to visit our schools to see the wonderful work going on. I can't wait to partner with the administrators and teachers in our school system and continue doing great things for our students and our community!"
We are excited to have Dr. Wright on our team and look forward to all he will bring to the district. Welcome home, Dr. Wright! Your story of success started here, and we know it will continue here. #URmurray