NEWPORT-Five applicants-four men and one woman-are being considered for the principal's position at Cocke County High School.

According to Manney Moore, Cocke County Director of Schools, Steve Ball, D. Gregory Bullock, Dr. Mitzy Hall, Dr. Robert Vick, and Larry Williams have submitted applications for the position.

Of the four, three-Ball, Hall, and Williams-are currently employed by the Cocke County School System. Vick is employed by the Jefferson County system, and Bullock is from Kentucky.

Ball, currently an assistant principal at CCHS, has completed 36 years of experience in public education, including serving as an English and social studies teacher at CCHS.

His experience also includes three years as Supervisor of Instruction, ten years as principal, and five years as director of the alternative education program, all at Newport Grammar School.

Ball holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Science degree in education, both from Lincoln Memorial University, and a Master of Science degree in educational administration and supervision from UT-K.

Dr. Hall, currently a chemistry and biology at CCHS, entered the teaching profession in November, 1994, as a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Ben W. Hooper Vocational School.

From August 1995 until May 2000, she taught at Cosby High School, then was transferred to CCHS in August of that year.

Her educational degrees include a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from East Tennessee State University, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Tusculum College, and EdS in administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University, and an EdD in leadership and professional practice from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Williams began his teaching career in 1972 as a teacher of math and business at Parrottsville High School. He later transferred to CCHS as a business and economics teacher, a position he filled until 2006, when he became a CCHS assistant principal in charge of the daily operations of Ben W. Hooper Vocational School

Williams earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business from East Tennessee State University, his Master of Arts from Tusculum College, and his EdS from Lincoln Memorial University.

He has served as CCHS athletic director since 1985.

Dr. Vick, a Jefferson County native with Cocke County roots, is now principal of Jefferson Elementary School in Jefferson County. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics education from UT-K, he completed his Masters and EdS degrees in administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University.

In 2004, he earned his EdD in educational leadership from ETSU.

He taught math at Morristown-West High School from 1986-1996, served as assistant principal at Jefferson Elementary in Dandridge until 2002, when he was elevated to the position of principal. Since 2006, he has been an adjunct professor for ETSU.

Bullock earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2000 in elementary education and social studies and later completed requirements for his Master of Arts and EdS from Union College in Barbourville, KY.

He taught at Brodhead Elementary School in Brodhead, KY from 200-2003, then one year as a fourth-grade teacher at Pi Beta Phi. He then became an adult supervisor of pupil transportation with the Kentucky Department of Pupil Transportation.

Moore stated that he hopes a new principal will be named by July 4.