Dr. Samuel Clemons, Jr., Principal
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I feel honored to be the principal at Pine Grove Middle School. I look forward to all the new challenges we'll face together and to all of the successes we will achieve together. I am very excited to work with such a dedicated staff, hard-working students, supportive parents, and caring community. Developing positive and trusting relationships are very important to me. Also, safety and learning are my top priorities. My goal is to work within the school, the district and with the community to develop our students into hard-working young men and women who are ready to succeed beyond middle school. I have an open-door policy and I welcome communication. I invite you to contact me with any questions or concerns anytime.
On a personal note, I am a product of the Lowndes County School System. All of my formal education was acquired from various schools within the Lowndes County School District. Additionally, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Arts in Special Education, an Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. I have been teaching at Pine Grove Middle school since 2009. In addition to teaching, I have also served as a basketball and track coach. I am married to Mrs. Tiffany Clemons, and we have three daughters: Sydney, Kennedy, and McKenzy.
Brittany Carswell, Assistant Principal
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Mrs. Carswell obtained both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Georgia Southwestern State University. She continued her education by earning her Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an add-on in Leadership from Valdosta State University. She has teaching experience at both the elementary and middle school levels and has coached both softball and soccer. For the past thirteen years, she has contributed to Pine Grove Middle’s journey to becoming a school that recognizes the importance of building relationships with our families, community, and most importantly, our students.
Mrs. Carswell's goal as an educational leader is to become a strong mentor. She strives daily to inspire and empower others to believe in themselves and reach their greatest potential! As President John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” Personally, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Sean, and two children, Kai - 8, and Corbin - 5.
Chase Ellinburg, Assistant Principal
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Mr. Ellinburg began his career in education as an English instructor in Maha Sarakham, Thailand, but he eventually ambled back home to America and taught at the high school level for a decade. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Valdosta State University in 2013 and a Master of Arts in English from Arizona State University in 2019. Gaining his teaching credentials through the GaTAPP program at Wiregrass Technical College, he was selected as the region’s GaTAPP Ambassador and currently serves on the program’s advisory board. His research interests include composition pedagogies, multimodal creative writing, and digital rhetorics.
Mr. Ellinburg’s top mission is generating and maintaining student self-advocacy. He believes that all students should have a voice in their studies and be equipped to create their own goals in the classroom. His core philosophy is that classrooms can be dynamic generators of knowledge, empathy, and collaboration, but this only happens when teachers and students mutually pursue common goals. He believes that learning is without fail a collective process rather than a singular event.
Mr. Ellinburg lives in Valdosta with his wonderful wife and three beautiful daughters.