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Burleson takes job as principal in Forsyth County

Burke County School Board Controversy

More articles about the Burke County School Board Controversy

By Steve Welker | The News Herald

Published: July 10, 2009

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - David Burleson, former superintendent of Burke County Public Schools, was hired Thursday as the new principal of North Forsyth High School.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education also hired two elementary-school principals during its special called meeting.
Burleson will replace Ron Jessup, who is retiring.
North Forsyth, one of 10 high schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System, is in Winston-Salem (about a mile from Bethabara Park) and close to Tobaccoville. The school had slightly more than 1,200 students last year. The "Vikings" will compete in Mid-Piedmont 3-A Conference sports beginning this fall.
North Forsyth was a "priority school" in 2008-09, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Its students did not achieve expected growth in 2007-08. It also failed to achieve "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, missing four of 15 goals for subgroups. Its graduation rate in 2007-08 was about 71 percent — lower than any high school in Burke County — and its students' average SAT scores were 905, almost 100 points lower than any Burke County high school's.
Burleson spent his entire professional career in Burke County, starting as a math teacher and coach at Freedom High in 1982. He was principal of Oak Hill Junior High, assistant principal and principal at Freedom High and associate superintendent of Burke County Schools from 1996 until he became superintendent in 2000. His last day as superintendent was June 30.
He holds bachelor's, master's and educational specialist degrees from Appalachian State University and is completing work on his doctorate.
He and his wife, Beth, have two daughters, Shannon and Heather, both of whom will be in college this fall.