2026-2027 Administrative Promotions, New Hires, and Changes 

At the May 6, 2026, meeting of the School Board, the Hampton School Board approved the following administrative promotions, effective July 1, 2026:

Assistant Principals

 

Maurice Horton has been promoted to a high school academy principal, location to be determined. 

 

Horton has served as a middle school assistant principal at Syms Middle since 2023. He joined Hampton City Schools in 2019 as a special education teacher at Bethel High School. Prior to coming to Hampton, he worked with Newport News City Schools as an instructional assistant and later as a special education teacher at both the elementary and middle school levels.

 

His leadership experience includes serving as interim dean of students at Bethel High School, lead facilitator for the HCS math department collaborative learning team, an HCS induction mentor, and leader of the Boys 2 Men Mentorship program. He is committed to supporting student achievement and building a positive, collaborative school environment for both students and staff.

 

Horton earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Mount Olive, a master’s degree in special education from Grand Canyon University, and a certificate in administration and leadership from the Virginia Department of Education.

Heather Woodruff has been promoted to the role of academy principal at Phoebus High School.

 

Woodruff has served as interim academy principal at Phoebus High School since November 2025. Prior to Phoebus, she was at Bethel High School as a CTE teacher since 2013. During her time at Bethel, she held several leadership roles, including Academy lead for Transportation, Analytics, Information, and Logistics; CTE instructional lead; and summer school site coordinator. She also facilitated and engaged students in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, a national leadership development program. She began her career with Hampton City Schools in 2002 at Jones Magnet Middle School, later serving as an instructional technology resource teacher from 2007 to 2010, and then supporting both Phenix and Andrews from 2010 to 2013. Before joining HCS, she taught high school business education in Westmoreland County Schools.

 

Woodruff holds a bachelor’s degree in business education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a focus on instructional technology, both from Virginia Tech, as well as a master’s degree in educational leadership from William & Mary.