Parents and community members in High Point came out to meet new Ferndale Middle principal Angela Jackson at a reception on Wednesday hosted by the school’s PTA. After being introduced by Western Region Superintendent Angelo Kidd, Jackson spoke to parents about her open-door policy and her commitment to student success.

She talked about the importance of parental and community involvement and noted that the large turnout already shows the commitment from parents. Frank Beck, the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator also spoke to parents.

Jackson is a veteran educator with 15 years of experience in the classroom and 12 years in administration and professional development. During her four years as principal at her previous school, she raised her students’ performance from a D rating to a B and grew the IB Middle Years Programme by about 170 students.

Ferndale will hold a special Open House just for sixth-graders on August 18 at 6 p.m. to help ease the transition to middle school. Open House for seventh- and eighth-grade students is August 23 at 6 p.m.