WCS Announces New Principals for Blowing Rock and Parkway

BOONE — The Watauga County Board of Education has named two new principals for the district. Madison Hollar will be the principal of Blowing Rock School and Martha Trimble will be the principal of Parkway School. 

Hollar and Trimble will fill the vacancies which follow the retirement of Patrick Sukow at Blowing Rock School and Patty Buckner at Parkway School.

“I am full of gratitude to assume the role of principal at Blowing Rock School and to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Sukow, whom I deeply admire, and who has had such an incredible impact on the school community,” Hollar said. “Throughout my journey in this district, I have been the recipient of extraordinary opportunities that led me to this place. I am extremely honored for the opportunity to lead and serve this vibrant school community. I am most excited to be a Rocket!”

Hollar began her employment with Watauga County Schools as an intern at Valle Crucis School in 2011. After her internship, she remained at VCS as a student teacher.

She shared that it was during this time that she knew she wanted to be a principal in the district at some point. This was always the end goal for her. She expressed that reaching this goal she set for herself is a dream come true. 

Hollar spent the 2012-2013 school year teaching third grade in Avery County. She returned to WCS in Fall 2013 and was an English Language Arts/Social Studies teacher for middle grades at Cove Creek School until 2022. During her time at Cove Creek she completed a Master’s degree in Curriculum and her administrator licensure. In 2020, she completed her National Board Certification. 

She is currently an assistant principal at Hardin Park School, where she joined the Golden Eagles family in Fall 2022.

“Madison is highly focused on student success and building positive relationships with students, staff and families,” said WCS Superintendent Dr. Leslie Alexander. “She brings energy and excitement to everything she does and will do great things at Blowing Rock School.”

“Watauga County Schools has been an integral part of my educational career,” Trimble said. “I was able to join Parkway a few years ago under an extraordinary leader and friend, learn from the hardest working teachers and develop relationships with the families and community of Parkway. Being able to step into the principal role is humbling and exciting. I am deeply grateful to be able to carry on the Parkway legacy alongside Parkway's faculty and staff.”

Trimble is in the process of completing her doctoral studies in Educational Leadership at East Tennessee State University. In addition, she holds a Master’s degree from Appalachian State University in Middle Grades Education with an Educational Leadership and Principalship add-on. She also earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Appalachian State University in 2011.

Throughout her career in Education, Trimble was a classroom teacher for Blowing Rock School, Watauga Virtual Academy and Ashburton Elementary School. She taught grades 4, 7 and 8 in WCS. She also served as the K-12 American School Head of Grades 1-4 at Dubai Modern Education School which is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Trimble began her career with WCS in 2007 and spent six years teaching fourth grade. She left Watauga County after the conclusion of the 2016-2017 school year and moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For the 2017-2018 school year she was a Head of School for grades 1-4 at Dubai Modern Education School. She then rejoined WCS for three years and taught 7th and 8th grade students. During this time, she also taught students in the Watauga Virtual Academy. 

Trimble spent the 2021-2022 school year in Montgomery County Public Schools, located in Bethesda, MD teaching 5th grade at Ashburton Elementary School.

Currently, Trimble is the assistant principal of Parkway Elementary School, where she joined the Patriot family in Fall 2022 

“Not only does Martha know and love Parkway, she also has strong instructional knowledge and has built positive relationships with students, teachers and families,” said WCS Superintendent Dr. Leslie Alexander. “I am confident Martha will be a great principal at Parkway School.”