Alternative Program administrator named principal at Willow Brook

The administrator of the Alternative Program at Oak Ridge Schools has been named principal of Willow Brook Elementary School, officials said Wednesday.

Sherrie Fairchild-Keyes will become Willow Brook principal effective July 1. The appointment was announced Wednesday morning by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. Fairchild-Keyes was selected by an interview team made up of Willow Brook teachers and parents and Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak, a press release said.

Fairchild-Keyes will replace the outgoing principal, Lisa Light, who took a position with Knox County Schools as the principal of Gap Creek Elementary.

The press release said Fairchild-Keyes began her career as a secondary science teacher in Anderson County Schools in 1999. She subsequently relocated to Florida, where she worked for the Monroe County School District in Key West both as a teacher and associate director of an alternative education program. She returned to Tennessee in 2009 to accept the position of Alternative Program administrator for Oak Ridge Schools, and she has served there since then.

Fairchld-Keyes has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tennessee Technological University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in cultural studies with the College of Education at the University of Tennessee.

“We are happy that Willow Brook Elementary will start the next school year with Ms. Fairchild-Keyes as the principal,” Borchers said. “Ms. Fairchild-Keyes has demonstrated her leadership skills and relational abilities as the administrator of the Alternative Program, and we know that her skill set and knowledge will allow Willow Brook to continue as a great school for students, staff, parents, and the community.”