Begins new role today
By Juliann Morris
July 31, 2023—Sariena Sampson has been named the new principal at Southern High School effective today.
Sampson most recently worked as the Doss High School freshman academy principal and said she is honored to join the Southern community and continue its “rich traditions.”
“I truly believe in the work being done in our academies at Southern to prepare students for their best possible futures,” Sampson said. “It is my greatest educational passion to shape well-rounded citizens to lead our community, and at Southern, we are doing just that.”
Sampson has spent her entire 15-year education career in Jefferson County Public Schools. She started at Liberty High School in 2008 as an English teacher and transferred to Doss in 2012, where she served as an English teacher, a project-based learning resource teacher, and goal clarity coach before being promoted to freshman academy principal in 2019.
Dr. Joseph Ellison, III, assistant superintendent of high schools, touted Sampson’s focus on improving the student experience through stakeholder engagement.
“Mrs. Sampson is passionate about high quality, interdisciplinary instruction and student achievement,” Ellison said. “Her data-informed approach to instructional leadership and school culture makes her the ideal leader to move Southern forward in its mission.”
Sampson holds an education specialist degree (principal certificate) and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Louisville. She also has a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Bellarmine University.
Sampson’s experience at Doss has prepared her to lead a school as diverse as Southern, she said. Much of her work over the past few years has focused on using data to improve instructional practices and outcomes, leading standards-based teaching and learning implementation, and refocusing professional learning community work to plan through a racial equity lens.
Students at Southern deserve equitable outcomes and bright futures, Sampson said, and she is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure students feel they belong and are equipped to succeed.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Southern family,” she said, “and can’t wait to get started.”