Principal Crayton may be the new principal of Seaforth High School; however, he certainly is not new to this role. This past January, he celebrated the beginning of his 26th year in education! Recently, he has been the principal of Jordan-Matthews High School in Chatham County since 2015. There he was named the Chatham County Schools’ Principal of the Year in 2020. He began his career in education as a Social Studies teacher in Durham.
Seaforth High School is the first high school built in Chatham County since 1972. It is scheduled to open this coming August. When giving a tour of Seaforth to area high school principals recently, Principal Crayton shared with them how important their input is throughout this process as he wants to have a piece of each school in Seaforth.
A goal of Principal Crayton’s has always been to open a new high school. He stated, “As an educator, I’ve always had mini-goals, or bucket-list type of things. Opening a new high school, building the foundation from day one, has been one of my ultimate goals. The past successes at my current and previous schools have contributed to giving me such an opportunity with opening Seaforth High School. I am eager to get started with hiring, sharing some of the pictures from within the school, engaging our students to get them excited about being a part of the journey with becoming the first group of students to walk the halls of Seaforth.”
Principal Crayton has the following goals for Seaforth High School:
- Develop a vision with a focus on promoting learning and teaching for students, faculty, and staff;
- Foster a community and family atmosphere where all stakeholders feel welcomed and respected from the beginning;
- Ensure that each of our students obtains the skills necessary as they prepare for life beyond high school;
- Create a positive, safe, and healthy learning culture where every student is treated with respect and dignity;
- Support our faculty, staff, and students in growing professionally and academically, where learning never ends;
- Build trust among all stakeholders with the understanding that our priority will be meeting the needs of our students.
“I value family. My wife is a teacher in Chatham County Schools, and I have a son who will turn three years old soon. I come from a family of educators where my mom is a retired middle school teacher, and my sister works at NC State University in the College of Education. With family comes loyalty, dedication, and support, which are three qualities I will instill in our students, our faculty and staff, and our community. We may get frustrated with one another at times, as a school family, but we will come together and support each other in creating a positive, inviting, and academically sound school environment. Our journey together has only just begun and I am blessed to have the opportunity to lead it.” he stated excitedly.
