Greg Watchinski named principal of Rocky Creek Elementary
March 16, 2020
In a Monday, March 9, 2020, meeting with Rocky Creek Elementary School staff, Lexington County School District One Superintendent Greg Little, Ed.D., announced that Gregory W. Watchinski, principal of Carolina Springs Elementary School, would become the principal of RCES.
The move becomes effective on July 1, 2020, as Watchinski replaces Brenda Nichols, who retires at the end of this school year.
“The Rocky Creek Elementary School focus groups’ input and the input staff and parents provided through surveys stressed that they wanted their new principal to be flexible, fun, open-minded and able to adjust when needed,” Superintendent Greg Little said. “They stressed their desire to have someone who would work to take the school and its students to the next level academically. I believe Greg Watchinski can do that.”
Watchinski joined the Lexington District One family in 2007. He was an assistant principal at CSES for five years before his promotion to CSES principal in 2012.
During his tenure at CSES, Watchinski successfully led the implementation of Responsive Classroom, an initiative aimed at developing social/emotional skills and building relationships among students and staff.
Described by the school’s staff and parents as a welcoming and trustworthy servant leader, Watchinski also serves on the Human Resource’s Principal Advisory Team and the Aspiring Principals Academy Curriculum Design team.
Watchinski moved to Lexington, S.C., from Aurora, Illinois, in 2007. While in Aurora, he taught elementary school for eight years before transitioning into the role of student services coordinator.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction/supervision, and a Master of Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University.
He is a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
