Lexington One Hires Matthews, Promotes Gooding
July 1, 2014
LEXINGTON, SC — At the June 24, 2014 regular monthly meeting of the Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees, the board approved the hire of Jeffery A. Matthews and the promotion of K. Tracy Gooding effective July 1, 2014.
Jeffery A. Matthews, who currently serves as principal of Bluefield Middle School in West Virginia, was named the new principal of Pelion Middle School. He replaces PMS Principal Sandy Jowers who retires effective June 30, 2014.
With 14 years of public education experience, he began his career as a fourth-grade teacher at Harmony Elementary School located in the Iredell-Statesville Schools in North Carolina in 2000. He was promoted to assistant principal at South Iredell High School in 2006 and served as summer school principal there in 2008. In 2010, he joined Memorial Primary in the Mercer County Schools in West Virginia as principal and transferred to Bluefield Middle School as principal in 2012.
Matthews holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Bluefield State College in Bluefield, West Virginia, and a Master of Arts in School Administration and Educational Leadership from Garner-Webb University in Statesville, North Carolina. He has elementary education and supervision certifications.
He received the West Virginia Principals’ Leadership Academy Distinguished Scholar Award in 2012. He is a member of the West Virginia Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals and the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission.
K. Tracy Gooding, who currently serves as a physical education teacher at Gilbert High School, was promoted to the position of assistant administrator at Pelion High School.Gooding has 14 years of education experience and began his career in 2000 as a physical education teacher and junior varsity football coach at Lexington High. In 2002, he moved to Barnwell High in Barnwell School District 45 to teach physical education and coach varsity football and junior varsity baseball. In 2004, he returned to Lexington One as a physical education teacher and varsity football and wrestling coach at Gilbert High.
Gooding earned a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Newberry College and a Master of Education in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. He holds certifications in physical education, secondary administration and secondary supervision.
He is a member of the South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association.
