Theresa Sims was hired as principal at Troy Elementary School on Monday.

Sims, who has been vice principal of the school, will replace Juan Henderson, who resigned earlier this year pending an out-of-town move with his family.

Lee Hicks, superintendent of the Troy City Schools, said the recommendation to hire Sims as principal was a unanimous one made by the search committee.

“We had a six-member team, with three teachers and three administrators,” he said prior to the meeting. “It was a unanimous decision by all on the team.”

Sims will move into the principal role effective July 1. Meanwhile, Henderson said he will continue to work through the transition.

“I just want to say thank you to the administration and the parents for trusting me with your children,” Henderson told the board and the audience gathered. “It is a great day to be a Trojan, and there are a lot of good things happening.”

Sims’ hiring was one of nine personnel recommendations considered by the board on Monday. The others unanimously approved by the board included one retirement, James Renfroe at the Troy-Pike Center for Technology, and six resignations: Joy Felch, Troy Elementary kindergarten special education teacher; Jenny Meadows, Charles Henderson Middle School library aide; Jason Eastering, CHMS school support aide; Ryne Rials, CHMS special education aide; Kira Aaron, Charles Henderson High School English teacher; and Jonathan Pennington, CHHS special education aid.

The recommendation to transfer LaTanya Threadgill from CHMS science teacher to CHHS science teacher passed three-one, with board members Wally Lowery, Roxie Kitchens and Dr. Judson Edwards approving the recommendation and Jason Thomas opposing it. Threadgill had written a letter to board members contesting the transfer.

In other business on Monday, the board accepted the final external report presented by AdvancED, as part of the accreditation process.

“To have our system come through this will all 3s, and high 3s at that, is a credit to our teachers and to the ladies who worked to get this information together (for the accreditation),” Hicks said.

During the academic report, the board heard presentations on two summer programs at Troy Elementary School: the pre-K summer program and the Reading-Math-Science-Technology Academy.

“Our main goal is to help children make a smooth transition into kindergarten,” explained Emma Fluker, who heads the pre-K academy. The eight-day program is offered to students who are already enrolled for the fall term of kindergarten and helps prepare them for the school environment and the learning process. In addition to a basic curriculum that focuses on letter and number recognition; social skills; and reading basics, the academy also prepares parents for the expectations of kindergarten.

“We educate the families on what they’ll need to know for kindergarten next year,” Fluker said.

The Reading-Math-Science-Technology academy is a combination of separate reading, writing and math and science summer programs, said Carolyn Hampton, coordinator. More than 115 students are enrolled, and they rotate between activities in each of the four core areas.

“We’re focusing on authentic learning experiences,” Hampton said, as she invited participating students to come forward and share their work with the board.

Students presented results of their science experiment (how high a basketball bounces on asphalt, tile or carpet); fractions lessons (recognizing and adding fractions with the aid of layered, colored salt; and how to create PowerPoint presentations (including one student’s “all about me” presentation she shared with the board and audience).

“As you can see, we have lots of authentic experiences for children to learn,” Hampton said. The academy is open to rising third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a minibus and four vehicles as surplus to be sold.

• Accepted the financial statement, although sales tax figures were not yet available.

• Recognized the Charles Henderson High School Baseball team, which won the Class 4A state championship.