School board okays new principal, five assistant principals
Madison, Madison County Record, News, Schools, Z - News Main
 By  John Few Published 
1:00 pm Wednesday, December 15, 2021

School board okays new principal, five assistant principals

MADISON – The new year will also bring leadership changes at several Madison Schools.

The Madison City Board of Education on Tuesday approved a new principal for Columbia Elementary and assistant principals for Columbia, Rainbow, Heritage, Madison and Horizon elementary schools.

Miranda Bolden with Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols and Assistant Superintendent Eric Terrell
New Columbia Elementary Principal Miranda Bolden, flanked by Assistant Supt. Eric Terrell and Supt. Dr. Ed Nichols.

The promotions are new for the position but not new to Madison City Schools. All come from within the district and are mostly transferring schools.

Mid-year retirements of several principals began the domino-like effect of changes.

In the special called meeting of the Board, Miranda Bolden was named principal of Columbia Elementary.

Bolden began her teaching at Columbia so has come full circle in becoming principal there. She comes from Assistant Principal at Rainbow Elementary where she had also been in the Madison Aspiring Administrators Program (MAAP) assigned to Rainbow.

Five assistant principals pictured with Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols and Assistant Superintendent Eric Terrell

Assistant principals (L-R) between Mr. Terrell and Dr. Nichols: Nedjra Russell, Kimberly Massey, Wendy Pharo, Kristen Kolenich, Tammy Jones

The following assistant principals were approved today by the Board:

Nedjra Russell, Rainbow Elementary – Russell was MAAP at Rainbow and taught before Tuesday’s promotion to RES assistant principal to replace Bolden.

Kimberly Massey, Columbia Elementary was selected to replace Laura Minor, who just retired. Massey is currently the MAAP at Columbia.

Kristen Kolenich, Heritage Elementary – She replaces Nathan Wilson, who recently was promoted to principal at Mill Creek Elementary. Kolenich is currently reading coach at Heritage.

Tammy Jones, Madison Elementary – Jones was assistant principal at Horizon and transfers to MES to replace Demetria Freeman, who was recently named principal at Horizon.

Wendy Pharo, Horizon Elementary. Pharo is elementary instruction specialist at the Central Office. She will fill the AP job left by Tammy Jones who is transferring to assistant principal at Madison Elementary. Pharo taught and was a reading coach at Heritage prior to moving to the district elementary instruction specialist position.

Also on The Madison Record
Madison City Schools Superintendent to retire at end of 2025-26 school year
A: Main, Madison County Record, News, ...
Madison City Schools
Search now begins for replacement
Maria Rakoczy 
April 15, 2026
MADISON - Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols announced plans to retire at the end of this school year at Thursday’s school board meeti...
Labbe named Radio Personality of the Year in Alabama
A: Main, Madison County Record, News, ...
By AVA MALONE news@themadisonrecord.com 
April 15, 2026
BIRMINGHAM - With 53 years in broadcasting, including the last 35 years as host of the weekly program ‘Reelin’ In The Years’ on WLRH-FM, and the long-...
Madison to hold “Spring Clean Up Day”, details America 250 events
Events, Madison County Record, News, ...
Gregg Parker 
April 15, 2026
MADISON – During the change in seasons, Madison is experiencing enhancements, observances and safety measures, and Mayor Ranae Bartlett is involved wi...
Indoor amusement park coming to Madison
Business, Madison County Record, News, ...
MARIA RAKOCZY mailto:maria@themadisonrecord.com maria@themadisonrecord.com 
April 14, 2026
The Madison City Council on Monday approved the construction of an indoor entertainment venue. Slick City Action Park is proposed to be 42,000 square ...
Republican Women of Madison host Senate Candidate Forum
Madison, Madison County Record, News, ...
Gregg Parker 
April 9, 2026
MADISON – The Republican Women of Madison organization will collaborate with related clubs to host the North Alabama U.S. Senate Candidate Forum on Ap...
Big innings lift Trash Pandas to Easter win, first series victory
A: Main, Madison County Record, News, ...
Play Ball
Staff Reports 
April 8, 2026
MADISON - The Rocket City Trash Pandas (2-1) continued their high-powered offensive start to the season with a 9–8 win on Easter Sunday, clinching the...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *