English named interim executive director of student services

Sara English will assume the position of Pitt County Schools interim executive director of student services effective July 1, according to an announcement made Wednesday by PCS Superintendent Ethan Lenker.

English will take over duties vacated by Karen Harrington, who will retire on June 30, after nearly 26 years with the PCS system.

Prior to accepting the district’s coordinator of student services position last June, English served as principal at Northwest Elementary School beginning in 2018. English has 23 years of experience as an educator covering two states, which includes two principal appointments and an administrative role with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. In addition to her five-year tenure in the top leadership position at Northwest, she was in a similar capacity at P.W. Moore Elementary School in the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools system.

“Sara’s leadership skill set, familiarity and experience within our district and the understanding of student support dynamics will provide stability and continuity during this transition,” Lenker said. “We are indebted to Karen for her many years of dedicated service to Pitt County Schools and certainly wish nothing but the best in her retirement.”

From 2012-15, English was an educational consultant II in the district and school transformation division with NCDPI, first as an elementary instructional coach and then as an instructional technology coach. She spent seven years in Wake County Public Schools, most recently serving as assistant principal at Mills Park Middle School (2010-12). While in the Triangle, English earned Mills Park Elementary School Teacher of the Year honors for the 2009-10 year and received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Cary Chamber of Commerce.

She began her education career in 2001 as a fifth-grade teacher at Samuel Beck Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas.

English was a three-year board member and writing project director for the North Carolina English Teachers’ Association and has served on the board for the Pitt County chapter of Parents for Public Schools since August of 2023. Additionally, she completed the North Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals’ Association (NCPAPA) Distinguished Leadership in Practice development program and was a participant in the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Texas in 2001, English followed with a masters of school administration from North Carolina State University in 2010 and is pursuing a doctor of education degree from Appalachian State University.