New Principals for Northside Elementary and McDougle Middle

Coretta Sharpless

Bob Bales

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education approved two new principals at its August 13 meeting. Coretta Sharpless was named Principal of Northside Elementary and Bob Bales was named Principal of McDougle Middle.

Sharpless has been at Northside Elementary as the Assistant Principal since the school opened in 2013. Previously, she served in the same capacity at Estes Hills Elementary, and as an administrative intern at Phillips Middle. Before becoming a school administrator, Sharpless was a lead teacher, gifted education specialist and intervention specialist, working in both Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Alamance-Burlington City Schools. Sharpless received her Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University and her Master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bales will be moving into his new role after serving as the Assistant Principal at McDougle Middle since 2012. He was also an assistant principal and interim principal at Chapel Hill High, and an administrative intern at Culbreth Middle. Prior to entering school administration, Bales worked as a middle school math teacher, department chair and basketball coach. Bales received his Bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and his Master’s degree from Penn State University.

“We are fortunate to have an amazing pool of assistant principals who work very hard to prepare for principalships,” said Arasi Adkins, Executive Director of Human Resources. “We are confident both Ms. Sharpless and Mr. Bales will provide excellent leadership for their respective schools.”

Currently, 16 of the 20 CHCCS schools are led by principals who were hired from within the school district.