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Administration

Adams Head Shot

Jarvis Adams is a distinguished educator with more than 24 years of experience in education. As Westlake High School’s new principal, he uses this knowledge to honor the legacy of past leaders while steering the school toward the future. An assistant principal at Westlake from 2013 to 2018, Mr. Adams acquired the skills that now serve as a solid foundation of quality leadership in both high school curriculum and decision-making. It was during this time he was able to support the improvement in teaching and learning outcomes, including a schoolwide initiative of a balanced assessment calendar, a 19% increase of student mastery on the US History Georgia Milestones, a 26% increase of student mastery on the Economics Georgia Milestones, and an outperformance of the national trend on the Advanced Placement exams in Social Studies for African American students.

His reputation for leadership excellence took him to nearby Camp Creek Middle School, where he was principal from 2018 to 2021. During that time he increased the school’s CCRPI score from 67.5 to 78.7 using proactive strategic planning and effective teacher development efforts via professional learning communities. Additionally, Camp Creek Middle School’s performance on the Georgia Milestones increased over 20% in all content areas and was repeatedly recognized by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement as a Beating the Odds School. Before joining Fulton County Schools, Mr. Adams was a high school teacher in North Carolina before transitioning to DeKalb County Schools in Georgia, where he served more than 16 years as a social studies teacher and a coach at the middle school and high school levels. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science Education from Fayetteville State University and also has two advanced degrees from Mercer University: a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Mr. Adams enjoys spending time with his wife Cicely, an educator in DeKalb County Schools, and his two daughters Zoe and Sky.


 

Ms. Johnson pic

Cecelia Johnson – 9th Grade Assistant Principal  johnsonc5@fultonschools.org  

Ms. Cecelia Johnson is a native of College Park, GA, and a product of the Fulton County School System.  She attended Bethune Elementary School, McNair Middle School, and then she graduated as salutatorian from Benjamin Banneker High School.  She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia where she graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Business Education.  She continued her education at the University of Cincinnati where she received a master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and she is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Workforce Education at the University of Georgia.  

Her teaching career began when she returned to Banneker High School to teach at her beloved alma mater.  After five years, she transitioned to Centennial High School, then to Westlake High School.  Here, she has served as department chairperson over the Career and Technical Education, Smaller Learning Community Coordinator, and as an Administrative Assistant.

 


 

Minnis Head Shot

Gregory Minnis - 10th Grade Assistant Principal    MinnisG@fultonschools.org

Mr. Gregory Minnis has served 25 years in education at the high school level. He is a native of Miami, FL. and a graduate of Miami Central Senior high school.  Mr. Minnis attended the University of Louisville, where he played football and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and his Master of Arts in Teaching.  Mr. Minnis also attended Georgia College and State University where he obtained his Ed. S. in Educational Leadership and Nova Southeastern University where he obtained his Ed. S. in Curriculum, Instruction Management, and Administration.

Mr. Minnis has served as a teacher and administrator in several high schools from Louisville, Ky., Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Florida, and Atlanta, GA. During his previous tenure at Westlake high school, Mr. Minnis has taught Physical Education, Health, and served as an Administrative Assistant.  Mr. Minnis also served as an Administrative Assistant at Creekside High School and Langston Hughes High School.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Minnis was the Head Football Coach during his tenure at Deerfield Beach High School in Florida and an Assistant Football Coach under the direction of Dallas Allen; eventually, he became the Head Football Coach at Westlake High School.  Mr. Minnis enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, riding motorcycles, and impacting youth in a positive way. He also has a passion for teaching and believes that Westlake High School truly has what it takes to be an A School.  


 

Mrs. Hickman pic

Candice Hickman - 11th Grade & Curriculum Assistant Principal    hickmanc@fultonschools.org

Candice E. Williams-Hickman is a product of the Fulton County School System in particularly Westlake High School’s Math & Science Magnet Program.   She has served as a Mathematics educator for 15 years, 14 of which have been in the service of Westlake High School and its surrounding community.  She received her undergraduate degree and extensive work in the master’s program in Mathematics from Clark Atlanta University.  Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Jacksonville State University.  Throughout her educational career, she has been chosen as the Westlake High School Magnet Teacher of the Year (2002) as well as the Westlake High School Teacher of the Year (2009).  The depth of her dedication to the Westlake High School Community has ranged from serving through athletics, academic competition teams, supporting the fine arts department performances, developing advisory curriculum, aiding the JROTC program through chaperoning, working weekend and afterschool tutorial programs, serving as a mentor teacher, representing the Faculty and Staff on the Local School Advisory Committee,  and serving as the faculty representative to the Fulton County School Superintendents Teacher Advisory Board.  Throughout her tenure as an educator, Mrs. Hickman has assisted or coordinated several testing programs which include Fulton County Benchmarks, End of the Course Testing, and Advanced Placement Testing.  For the past three years, she has supported the assistant principals with scheduling.  Under the Small Learning Communities Grant she has served as the Data Coordinator and for five years has served as the Chair of the Mathematics Department here at Westlake High School.   

 

 

 

Kennette Blackman – 12th Grade Assistant Principal

blackmank@fultonschools.org 

Kennette Blackman has a diverse educational background which has spanned 17 years in the field of education. She began her educational journey as a classroom teacher and later became a teacher leader, serving students from various cultural backgrounds as a part of a team that was recognized as the number one magnet school in the nation as well as the number one school in the state of Alabama. This team also garnered a reputation for consistently producing National Merit and National Achievement Scholars as well as preparing and sending students to the most prestigious Ivy League colleges and universities in the nation.

After transitioning from her home state of Alabama, she served as an instructional leader in the capacity of program support specialist in metro Atlanta where she led the work for a cluster of schools that became an International Baccalaureate continuum of schools. She also served as an International Baccalaureate Coordinator and led a team that received commendations from the International Baccalaureate Organization for the quality of their work and the team’s ability to complete the authorization process in record time. Additionally, this team was recognized for increasing its CCRPI score by approximately 20% and achieving a score of 100% for closing the gap in student achievement.

Kennette received her bachelor’s degree in History from Alabama State University and her master’s degree in Public Administration from Auburn University’s Montgomery campus. Currently, Mrs. Blackman is pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, visiting the beach, and spending time with her awesome husband of 16 years and her three amazing sons. She is excited about supporting Westlake High School and offering her expertise to assist with the vision of being recognized as a top performing high school in Academics, Athletics, and the Arts.

 


Byron Parker - Athletic Director  parkerb3@fultonschools.org