Friday, May 15, 2004

New appointments for Landmark Christian Landmark Christian School headmaster, Mr. Matt Skinner, was pleased to announce the selection of a new middle school principal and a new high school principal at a recent meeting of the Landmark Christian School Parents' Club. Mr. Wayne Brantley will assume the duties of high school principal and Mrs. Marie Williams was named middle school principal for the upcoming school year. Both Mr. Brantley and Mrs. Williams are well known by the Landmark family as excellent and well-loved teachers. Wayne Brantley has been at Landmark for 3 years. He has his B.S. degree in History and Political Science and 11 total years of classroom teaching experience. At Landmark, Mr. Brantley's teaching has been especially appreciated in the areas of US History and AP History. Mr. Brantley's talents have also served Landmark Christian School on the football field. As Offensive Coordinator, Mr. Brantley has helped lead the War Eagles to two Region 5A Championships in the last two years. Marie Williams is a veteran, 11-year Landmark Christian School teacher. Mrs. Williams has a Masters in Education degree and a total of 12 years teaching experience. She has blessed many students with her teaching of history, Bible, English, and composition. Mrs. Williams has an especially fond regard for students of middle school age. "I just love middle school kids," she states, "I understand them, I can relate to them, and I enjoy being around them during this special time in their lives." When asked why he would take two of Landmark's best teachers out of the classroom, Headmaster Skinner gave a two-part answer. "First," he said, "Mr. Brantley and Mrs. Williams are headed for administration positions. I'd rather have them come out of the classroom and become administrators here (at Landmark Christian School) than come out of the classroom and lose them to another school." The second part of Skinner's answer pointed to one of his philosophies of education administration. "It is important that principals stay in touch with the real world of the classroom. Therefore, both Wayne and Marie will teach, on a limited basis. Mr. Brantley will teach AP History and Mrs. Williams will teach 8th grade English. Landmark will bid farewell to Rick Burslem, of Fayetteville. Mr. Burslem has faithfully served Landmark Christian School for 10 years in the roles of teacher, technology director, and most recently as middle and high school principal. "We are thankful for the many years of service that Mr. Burslem has dedicated to the mission of Landmark Christian School," said Headmaster Skinner. "He has served with a tremendous passion for the Lord and for Christian education. We will miss him." Burslem, whose children will continue to attend Landmark Christian School, has been called into church ministry. He has accepted the position of Executive Pastor at Atlanta City Church in Fairburn. Landmark Christian elementary school will continue to be under the direction of Principal Kelli Penn. "Kelli Penn came to our school one year ago," said Skinner, "and she has done a fantastic job of moving the school forward in important areas such as curriculum review and development, while establishing warm, open relationships with her students, teachers, and parents." Landmark Christian School will be opening a satellite elementary school campus at 777 Robinson Road in Peachtree City. Both campuses are currently enrolling students for Fall 2004. Headmaster Skinner reports that he could not be more pleased with his principal team. With the continuation of Kelli Penn (elementary) and the additions of Williams (middle school) and Brantley (high school), Mr. Skinner feels his vision of pulling together a world-class leadership team to serve God through the mission of Landmark Christian School is becoming a reality.