Staunton: Leadership changes for school system for 2026-2027 school year

Staunton City Schools is rolling out several leadership transitions for the coming school year, effective July 1.

We’ll start at Bessie Weller Elementary School and McSwain Elementary School, which are transforming their school improvement leader positions to assistant principal positions in the upcoming school year.

Both schools have experienced growing student enrollment over the last two years and are over their functional capacity, according to SCS. Each school will now have two assistant principals to support a larger student population and expanding needs.

Ware Elementary School‘s student enrollment has remained steady, and the school will maintain a school improvement leader in the upcoming school year.

Amber Hostetter will transition from school improvement leader to an assistant principal at Bessie Weller Elementary School.

Hostetter is a 14-year educator and joined Staunton City Schools nine years ago as a teacher at A.R. Ware Elementary School. She taught kindergarten and fourth grade and served in several teacher leadership roles at Ware.

Since 2021, she has been the school improvement leader at Bessie Weller, where she has led professional learning, instructional coaching and school improvement efforts. She also serves as the school’s gifted coordinator and testing coordinator.

Prior to joining SCS, Hostetter taught at the elementary level in Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Elizabethtown College and a master’s degree in educational leadership from James Madison University.

Kristy Breeden will transition from school improvement leader to an assistant principal at McSwain Elementary School.

Breeden is a 22-year educator who has served as the school improvement leader at McSwain Elementary School for the last five years. In her current role, she has supported schoolwide instructional improvement, facilitated student support team meetings, provided instructional coaching and coordinated SOL and benchmark testing.

She has also served as summer school administrator for Staunton City Schools.

Prior to joining SCS in 2021, Breeden was a classroom teacher at the kindergarten and fourth-grade levels in Augusta County Public Schools and Harrisonburg City Public Schools.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and elementary education from Bridgewater College and a master’s degree in educational leadership from James Madison University.

Breeden has been honored as Teacher of the Year twice in previous roles in Augusta County Public Schools.

Stephanie Turner will join Shelburne Middle School as an assistant principal, succeeding Jennifer Diggs. Turner returns to SCS with experience in instructional leadership, school improvement and elementary and middle school education. She most recently served as an assistant principal at Buffalo Gap Middle School.

Prior to her administrative role, Turner was a K-5 math coach at Bessie Weller Elementary School, leading professional learning for teachers, analyzing student achievement data and supporting instructional improvement. She has also taught fourth and fifth grades at Bessie Weller and McSwain.

Turner has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from George Mason University, a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and an Educational Leadership Certification from James Madison University.

Donte’ Montague, currently an assistant principal at Staunton High School, is transitioning to Bessie Weller Elementary School as an assistant principal, succeeding Matt Hopewell.

Montague has spent his entire 12-year career with SCS, beginning as a fourth-grade teacher at A.R. Ware Elementary School. Montague was the SCS Teacher of the Year and a recipient of the Dawbarn Education Award in 2018. He has been an assistant principal at Staunton High School for the last four years.

Montague holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Bridgewater College, a master’s degree in elementary education and teaching from Mary Baldwin University and has an Education Administration endorsement from Longwood University.