Principals with experience teaching middle grade students were named to head Yadkin County's two new middle schools beginning in a little over a year.

Rick Swaim, currently principal of Jonesville Elementary School, received the nod to take the executive role at Starmount Middle School, and Kelly Mabe of Courtney Elementary will be the principal at Forbush Middle School.

Yadkin County School Board members approved the two on Monday night after discussing the decision in closed session.

Superintendent Jim Benfield said three Yadkin County administrators were interviewed for the two positions.

Swaim and Mabe will continue in their current positions until accepting the middle school positions in July 2009 to complete the opening of the schools the next fall.

Construction began several weeks ago with a target completion date of Fall 2009

The decision on principals will now allow the school district to begin the process of staffing the two schools. Benfield anticipates completing the choices in time to hold training sessions for them over this summer.

"I just didn't think it was right to start staffing it without the principal," he said. "Both the principals and the teachers and staff need to know who they will be dealing with."

Benfield predicts the position for teaching new classes offered at the middle schools can be filled by current employees.

As not available before, algebra will become part of the seventh and eighth grade offerings at the middle school. Previously, educators had said none of the elementary schools could support a full class of algebra students.

The new buildings will also offer the physical amenities to allow science lab experiments. "I think the students will be very excited about that type of hands-on learning," Benfield said. " They do some of it now in the classroom, but it will be able to be on a regular basis."

Student populations will support full chorus groups, bands, SAT prep and foreign language classes.

Benfield had hopes to offer geometry in the middle grades but said that objective have have to wait another year.

Both principals have been interested in the middle school concept for Yadkin County since discussions about the facilities were renewed in January of 2007.

"They are different from elementary students," Mabe said of the middle school age students. They have different needs. They have the opportunity to go down any road We want to provide them with the opportunity to be a success in the 21st century." She has been at Courtney for three years. She taught at Jackson Middle School in Guilford County.

Swaim has been principal at Jonesville since 2002. He has a degree from Appalachian State University in middle grades education and a Gardner Webb University degree in administration.

"They are my heart," he said of middle schoolers.

Both principals see the challenge of opening a new school as daunting but add that they are thankful for the opportunity .

"I wouldn't miss the opportunity to be a part of opening a new school," Swaim said.