Dickson County Schools

Every Student Every Day

Andrea Beaubien, New Director of Early Learning

Mrs. Beaubien has two decades of experience in education in Dickson County. She has previously served as a teacher at Centennial Elementary and William James Middle School, the Director of Walnut Street Preschool, the Assistant Principal at Dickson Elementary, the Principal at White Bluff Elementary and most recently as the Elementary Numeracy Coordinator for Dickson County Schools.

Mrs. Beaubien is a Dickson County High School graduate. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Lipscomb University and her Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Trevecca University. She expects to complete her Doctor of Education in Leadership from Trevecca in December 2025. Mrs. Beaubien was also a...

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Melissa Southerland, New K-12 Intervention Coordinator

Melissa Southerland is a native of Dickson County and graduated from DCHS in 1993.She continued her education at Columbia State Community College and Austin Peay StateUniversity where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She is currently enrolled at Austin Peay State University working towards her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.

Melissa just completed her twenty-fifth year in education; she spent twenty-three years as a classroom teacher in various grades in the Elementary and Secondary schools. For the past two years, she has served as a TN ALL CORP tutor at Stuart-Burns Elementary School. In March of this year, she filled in as the TN ALL CORP manager for all elementary schools in Dickson County and served as...

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Lori Wilson, New K-12 Social Studies Coordinator

Lori Wilson has nineteen years of education experience, sixteen of those years spent in our district. Lori was born and raised in Dickson County. She graduated from DCHS in 1999 and earned her degree in education from Austin Peay State University in 2004. She has been married to her husband Ray for twenty-one years and they have two daughters, Libbie and Anna Kate.

Mrs. Wilson’s career as an educator began in 2005 when she took a second grade teaching position at Pegram Elementary teaching all content areas. In 2008, she was thrilled to be moving back home to Dickson County, where she was given...

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Dr. Lucas Winstead, New District Chief Academics Officer

Dr. Winstead has accepted the position of Chief Academic Officer for the Dickson County School System. He has completed 20 years in public education, with the first seven of those years being in Dickson County at William James Middle School. He has been a principal at Harpeth Middle School and Kingston Springs Elementary School, and served as...

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Jonathan Palmore, New Assistant Principal of Creek Wood High School

Jonny attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in English and Secondary Education in 2014. He began his teaching career with Dickson County Schools in 2014 serving Creek Wood High School as an English teacher. Since then, he has served in many roles both academically and athletically.

He furthered his education by earning a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University in 2017. Currently, he serves as the...

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Amanda Rachford, New Assistant Principal of Stuart Burns Elementary

Mrs. Rachford is a devoted educator within the Dickson County school system, serving fifteen out of her twenty years in education. She attended Middle Tennessee State University, obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2004. She furthered her education by earning a Master’s Degree in Teaching and Learning, focusing on reading from NOVA Southeastern University in 2006. After pursuing leadership, she earned her EdS in Instructional Leadership from Lipscomb University in 2017.

Mrs. Rachford began her teaching career in 2nd grade in...

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Jessica Smith, New Principal of Burns Elementary School

Mrs. Smith has a diverse educational background and experience in the field of education. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Integrated Studies K-6 in 2012. She began her teaching career in the Montgomery County School System, initially teaching kindergarten in Clarksville before relocating to Coffee County. In 2016, she joined Charlotte Elementary in Dickson, where she taught 1st grade and 5th grade.

Transitioning to an instructional coach role in 2019, Mrs. Smith supported Dickson Elementary and The Discovery School. She furthered her education by earning a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Tennessee State University in 2021. Currently, she serves...

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Kelly Duran, New Assistant Principal of White Bluff Elementary School

Kelly is committed to our school’s mission of nurturing every student’s potential. She believes in the power of collaboration and is eager to begin her new role.

Kelly Duran is a Dickson County native and graduated from DCHS in 1998. Her education continued at Lipscomb University where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and then with a Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision from Tennessee State University. Once more, Kelly returned to Lipscomb University and graduated with...

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Christal Vanderpool, New District Behavior Coordinator

Christal Vanderpool has served Dickson County as an educator for over two decades. Mrs. Vanderpool was born in Tennessee, but raised in Texas where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Reading from Texas A&M University.

In 2002, choosing to return to Tennessee to raise her family, Mrs. Vanderpool also began teaching at Stuart Burns Elementary where she flourished as an educator for 21 years. She accumulated a wealth of experience teaching first and third grades and gained insight into building positive learning environments necessary for student success.

Two years ago, she joined...

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Melinda Fortner, New Director of Elementary Education

Ms. Melinda Sullivan Fortner, a native of Dickson County, brings over two decades of experience in education to her new role as Director of Elementary Education for Dickson County Schools.

Fortner's journey in education began after graduating from Dickson County High School in 1996. She pursued her undergraduate studies at Austin Peay University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Her commitment to shaping young minds led her to begin her teaching career at...

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