A familiar face has returned to the hallways of Winona High School.
Terry Peeples, once a teacher at Winona Elementary School, was recently appointed as principal of the high school. He has been in education for nine years.
“I originally wanted to be a lawyer – I took some pre-law classes – but life took a turn and I needed to be out of school sooner,” Peeples explained. “So, my advisor suggested I take education classes, and in my first teaching observation hours at the University of Mississippi, I immediately knew that it’d be a great fit for me.”
After completing his time at Mississippi Delta Community College, Peeples transferred to the University of Mississippi to continue his education studies. During this time, he observed other teachers and performed student teaching at multiple locations including Winona. When it came time to take his first position as a full-time teacher, he took a job at WES.
According to Peeples, he “loved his time” at WES from his student teaching, so he felt he had to take the position as a full-time teacher.
“I taught fourth-grade math with Kim Rice as my teaching partner,” he explained. “Deanna Lowery was my mentor teacher. They took awesome care of me, specifically during my first year. Winona Elementary wasn’t even like coming to work for me, it was like coming to do a job with family.”
After six years of teaching, Peeples made the decision to transition into administration. He had two administrators that influenced him to make the change, Cole Surrell and Tabitha McCrory.
“Cole Surrell called me into his office and asked if I had considered getting into education leadership,” Peeples said. “He told me, ‘I think you should really go into education leadership.’ He was awesome, we’re really great friends.”
Peeples felt confident that he could do the job after watching Surrell and McCrory perform their duties. He studied at Arkansas State University at Surrell’s recommendation to gain further knowledge and a master’s in education administration. After that, he took his first role in school administration in Yazoo where he helped bring his school from an ‘F’ rating up to a ‘D.’
“It’s a high poverty area,” he explained. “It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it and learned so many skillsets that made me the administrator I am today.”
Peeples has been in administration for the past three years and officially started at Winona High on Jan. 1, after serving as the assistant principal until December 2023.
Peeples said that his goals at WHS include, earning an ‘A’ ranking, getting families more involved at the school, increasing ACT scores and career readiness, and helping give students a “world-class education.”
