McCoy resigns as MCHS principal

“This reflection, coupled with the opportunity to serve internationally spreading the gospel, allowed my family and me to think through what were the best next steps for our family and for MCHS.”

McCoy said she plans to serve in international missions through schools. She spoke about the impact that her tenure would leave at Marshall County.

“The creation of new traditions at MCHS that engage our families, honoring teachers in the district and continuing to hold high standards for our programs are some of my fondest memories,” she said. “We are just getting started with our House systems and have amazing teachers leading the charge.

“We created Senior Salutes for teachers in the district. We held Marshall Honors Breakfasts to celebrate our honor students and invited our families, allowing us to open our building up again to our community and families. And, we are seeing an instructional vision come to life and what this will look like in the future is exciting.”

McCoy praised the school staff for its dedication to the job that they do.

“Serving Marshall as the principal of MCHS was one of my greatest pleasures and honors,” she said. “The team at MCHS truly strives to create wonderful high school experiences for all students. Every employee cares about our students and the future is bright for the school community in Marshall.

“Marshall is in a prime position to make strong gains in instruction going forward and this is the exciting work that I can’t wait to see play out over the next few years.”

McCoy first became acquainted with Marshall County High School in January 2018 following the shooting at the school. At that time, she served as the comprehensive school counseling program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Education.

A Muhlenberg County native, McCoy said at her introduction as principal in 2020 that she believed her background in counseling and instruction was what drew the high school’s site-based decision-making council to select her for the position.

“Counseling is a piece of the culture and the culture we create,” she said. “It’s about the three words that I identified in my interview: community, pride and empowerment.

“... Ultimately, our job is to help (students) find their purpose and passion in life and put them on that journey that’s most supported through the community but also most successful as they are reaching that goal.”

McCoy succeeded Patricia Greer, who had served the school district since 2003 and was the MCHS principal from 2017 to 2020.

McCoy and her husband, B.J., have a daughter, Scout, who is in second grade, and a son, Jay, who is in first grade.

The MCHS site-based decision-making council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. today (Wednesday) in the school library to discuss the procedure for selecting a new principal.