PEACHTREE CITY, GA — July 11, 2012 — Dr. Linda Curtis, Acting Director and Deputy Director for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Cuba, (DoDDS-Cuba) announced today that Ms. Latonya Leeks has been named principal of Elliott Elementary School, at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, in the South Carolina/Fort Stewart/DoDDS-Cuba District.

Ms. Leeks comes to DoDEA from the Cumberland County, NC schools where she became an administrator in 2005 and served as assistant principal of Manchester Elementary School in Spring Lake, NC Prior to that, she served as a lateral entry middle grades reading teacher at Douglas Byrd and Spring Lake middle schools. During her nine years in the classroom, she served as Site Coordinator for 21st Century Community Learning Center, 7th grade team leader, co-author and curriculum coordinator for an Impact Technology Grant (a $1.35 million dollar three-year grant) and as Teacher Literacy Coach/Parent Facilitator.

“We are excited to have Ms. Latonya Leeks as part of our district,” said Dr. Samantha Ingram, South Carolina/Fort Stewart/DoDDS-Cuba District Superintendent. "Her experiences as an instructional leader will be instrumental in advancing our goals in student achievement and in supporting our military families.”

A Fayetteville, NC native, Ms. Leeks was the youngest of six children born into a military family. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Media Journalism from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, in 1995. She earned her professional teaching license in Middle Grades Language Arts from Fayetteville State University. She earned her Master’s Degree in School Administration from North Carolina Central University in 2006.