Knox County Schools has named 11 new principals for the 2026-27 school year, filling leadership posts across elementary, middle and high schools with internal hires who already know the district. The changes include Susan Hutton at Bearden Middle School, Candace Greer at Blue Grass Elementary School, Kristen Jackson at Brickey-McCloud Elementary School and Keith Cottrell for the new Farragut elementary school when it opens in fall 2027.

The move lands now because the district is already shaping staffing for next school year, and the leadership assignments will affect classrooms, schedules and school culture before students walk back in the door. For families searching for Schools news today, the names matter because several of the people stepping into these jobs are not outsiders but longtime Knox County educators being shifted into new roles.

Hutton will move into Bearden Middle in July after coming to Knox County Schools in 2022 to lead Brickey-McCloud. Greer, who has led Gibbs Middle School since 2021, will take over Blue Grass Elementary. Jackson, principal of West Hills Elementary since 2022, will move to Brickey-McCloud. Each transition keeps leadership inside the system, a choice that gives the district continuity as it prepares for a new school year and a broader set of priorities from Superintendent Jon Rysewyk, who has said his goals include improving special education and continued achievement growth.

Cottrell's move stands apart because his school does not yet exist in finished form. He is currently principal of Fountain City Elementary, and he will become the principal of the new Farragut elementary school only when it opens in fall 2027. The building is going up at Boring Road and Kingston Pike, and the district says it is intended to ease overcrowding in existing Farragut schools while eventually serving kindergarten through fifth grade students. It is expected to hold between 1,200 and 1,400 students, but it is still under construction and Knox County Schools has not given any opening date beyond fall 2027.

That leaves the biggest open question not about who will run the school, but about when the doors will actually open. For now, Knox County Schools has answered the personnel question with 11 internal appointments, and it has signaled that the Farragut project remains a future fix for a district that is already planning around pressure points it cannot solve overnight.