Mt. Juliet Middle School principal Leigh Anne Rainey was tapped to replace longtime Mt. Juliet High School principal Mel Brown when he retires at the end of the school year.

Rainey came to Wilson County Schools in January 2017, when Tim Bell retired as principal at Mt. Juliet Middle School at the beginning of winter break in December 2016.

“While Leigh Anne has done a tremendous job over the past year and a half, leading one of the state’s largest middle school, she has always expressed a strong desire to work with high school students, and she has a proven track record working with students at this level,” said Wilson County Schools spokesperson Jennifer Johnson.

Prior to joining Wilson County Schools, Rainey spent the previous four years as executive principal for Jonesboro High School in Arkansas.

Wilson County Director of Schools Donna Wright said while it’s never easy to say goodbye to a beloved principal like Mel Brown, she’s pleased to have someone who with the experience and knowledge of our community to continue building on the strong foundation that’s already been laid at Mt. Juliet High School.

“Leigh Ann has developed such a strong rapport with our students and parents, even in the short time she’s been in our district,” Wright said. “I have no doubt that it will serve her well as she transitions to the high school. We’re truly blessed to have someone who already lives in our community and with the skills and experience to help make this a seamless transition.”

From 1997-2009, Rainey taught several subjects, including AP biology and environmental science. In 2009, Rainey was chosen to be the school intervention and response to intervention specialist for Jonesboro High School in Arkansas, where she was later promoted to assistant principal and executive principal.

Rainey is no stranger to Middle Tennessee. She graduated from Franklin High School in Williamson County, where many of her relatives still live.

Brown is set to retire June 30. His 45-year career features numerous roles, resulting in several personal and school awards and recognition.

Brown started his education career at Two Rivers High School in 1966. In 1972, he moved to McGavock High School, where he also served as assistant football coach and head baseball coach, after several Metro Nashville schools closed.

As head baseball coach, he amassed 582 wins, three Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association state championships, three TSSAA state runner-ups, seven “coach of the year” honors and averaged 29 wins per season. The McGavock High School baseball field is named “Mel Brown Field” in his honor.

He was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 1999. He is also a member of the Clay County High School, Lipscomb and Tennessee baseball halls of fame.

Brown served as assistant principal at Hillsboro High School from 1992-96 and Lebanon High School during the 2003-2004 school year before he was appointed principal at Mt. Juliet High School.

Brown is regarded as one of the state’s best high school principals. During his tenure, Mt. Juliet High School received state recognition and championships in athletics and the fine arts.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education named Mt. Juliet the No. 1 academic school in the state. Brown followed up the recognition with several Reward School recognitions by the Tennessee Department of Education, as well as a “principal of the year” award by the Tennessee Association of Secondary School Principals.

Bell joined Wilson County Schools in 1987, when he taught health and physical education at Mt. Juliet Middle School.

He served as assistant principal, varsity baseball and varsity basketball coach at Mt. Juliet High School. He holds bachelor and master’s degrees from Trevecca Nazarene University.</s>DIXON, Illinois — The 180 Dixon High School seniors whose graduation rehearsal was interrupted by fellow senior Matthew Milby’s gunfire near the gym will return Thursday afternoon to continue practice for their ceremony scheduled for Sunday.

All high school classes are canceled for Thursday, but staff will still report to the school.

Pre-K through 8th-grade classes will be held as usual, with a heightened police presence, Dixon School District 170 posted on its website.</s>Police say a woman was killed and another wounded in a shooting outside a high school graduation ceremony in Georgia on Friday night.

Authorities said shots were fired at a Mount Zion High School parking lot after an argument between people who had attended a graduation ceremony for the Perry Learning Center, which prepares students for careers as an alternative to traditional high schools.

The graduation was held at the Clayton County Schools Performing Arts Center in Jonesboro, about 20 miles south of Atlanta.

Multiple media outlets report the dead woman was shot several times in the chest. The other woman was shot in the leg.

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It was unclear whether a suspect was in custody in connection with the shooting.

Clayton County schools Supt. Morcease Beasley on Saturday tweeted his congratulations to the more than 200 Perry graduates, but he also expressed sadness over the “senseless violence & death.”</s>One woman was killed and another wounded Friday night shooting near a Georgia high school, ABC affiliate WSB-TV reported.The station reported the shooting victims were not students at the school.The shooting occurred in a parking lot outside Mt. Zion H.S. in Jonesboro, about 20 miles south of Atlanta, Clayton County fire officials told WSB-TV.One woman was shot several times in the chest and later died. Another woman was shot in the leg, according to the station.</s>Police in Clayton County south of Atlanta say one person was killed and another wounded in a shooting between people who had just attended a high school graduation ceremony. A police statement says “one person is now confirmed deceased.”

“All of the sudden, we all heard a series of gunshots,” witness Shannon Delgado told CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL. “We didn’t know where they were coming from. Everybody just kind of froze, then we didn’t hear police, we heard more gunshots, but like a lot, like, ‘Pow, pow, pow, pow.’ That’s when we saw the cops, who were on the premises where the graduation was rush across the street because they were in the high school parking lot.”

The safety chief for the county’s schools, Thomas Trawick, says the shots were fired in a Mt. Zion High School parking lot after an argument between people who had attended a ceremony for graduates of the Perry Learning Center, which prepares students for careers as an alternative to traditional high schools.

The shooting occured just hours after 10 people were killed at Santa Fe High School in Texas.</s>Representatives for the Niles City School District said that on Monday, Niles Mckinley High School celebrated the opening of the district's newest food pantry.

According to a press release, this was the opening of Nile's City School District's second food pantry. The district opened "Dragon Pantry" at Niles Middle School last fall.

Representatives said, the pantry at the middle school currently serves between six and ten students each day.

A spokesperson for the school district said that because of the positive impact the Dragon Pantry had on students at the middle school, Niles Mckinley High School students worked alongside Second Harvest Food Bank, to open their very own food pantry.

A press release stated that this new food pantry will focus on serving the Niles City School District's high school students.</s>A picture of the scene at Zion High School in the US state of Georgia.</s>CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Police say an argument after a graduation ceremony led to a fatal shooting near a Clayton County high school, Friday night.

According to officials, the shots were fired in the parking lot of Mt. Zion High School off Mt. Zion Road, just south of Atlanta.

According to Clayton County Police, the shooting happened after a graduation for the Perry Learning Center, an alternative learning high school. The ceremony, which began at 6 p.m. Friday evening, was being held across the street from Mt. Zion High School at the school's performing arts center.

Police said as families were leaving, an argument broke out in the overflow parking lot, which leading to the shooting.

Right now, the Clayton County Fire Department confirms there were three victims – two with gunshot wounds – who were transported to area hospitals.

Officials said a 21-year-old victim was taken to Atlanta Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the leg, while another woman was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital. Officials said that woman, who was pregnant, was not shot rather she was hurt when she was pushed.

A third victim, a woman in her 40s, was taken to Southern Regional, but was later pronounced dead. Officials said she was shot three times in the chest.

Video from the scene showed several police cars outside the location.

11Alive's Ashley Johnson spoke to one grandmother after the shooting at the scene:

The shooting comes on the same day as a mass shooting at a Texas High School that left at least 10 people dead. Chief Thomas Treywick with the Clayton County Police Department told 11Alive's Ryan Kruger he was heartbroken to get the call of a possible shooting at the school.

"It was not pleasant," he said. "I was emotional because the last thing you want to do is have a situation at a graduation that results in anyone being injured."</s>(Alex T. Paschal/Sauk Valley Media via AP). Police investigate the scene following a shooting at Dixon High School Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Dixon, Ill. A 19-year-old who showed up at his former high school in northern Illinois and opened fire on a p...

(Alex T. Paschal/Sauk Valley Media via AP). Students file into the adjacent National Guard armory following a shooting at Dixon High School Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Dixon, Ill. A 19-year-old who showed up at his former high school in northern Illino...

(City of Dixon via AP). In this undated photo provided by City of Dixon, police officer Mark Dallas poses for a photo in front of Dixon High School in Dixon, Ill. Dallas, a school resource officer at the northern Illinois high school, was hailed as a h...

(Alex T. Paschal/Sauk Valley Media via AP). Parents wait down the road to meet their children following a shooting at Dixon High School Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Dixon, Ill. A 19-year-old who showed up at his former high school in northern Illinois a...

( Dixon Police Department via AP). This May 17, 2018 photo provided by the Dixon Police Department in Dixon, Ill., shows, Matthew Milby. Milby is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated discharge at a school employee and aggravated d...

DIXON, Ill. (AP) - A teenager used a 9mm semi-automatic rifle in firing shots at a northern Illinois high school before he was shot by a school resource officer, police said Thursday.

Illinois State Police also said 19-year-old Matthew Milby's mother bought the weapon in 2012 and that investigators were working to determine how he obtained it.

Classes were canceled Thursday at Dixon High School, a day after authorities say Milby showed up in the morning as seniors met for a graduation rehearsal and fired several shots inside the building.

Milby, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the officer, was transferred Thursday from a hospital to the Lee County Jail, the Dixon Police Department said. He was in custody under a $2 million bond, with an arraignment hearing possible on Friday, according to state police. No one else was injured in the shooting.

Julie Milby told reporters on Wednesday her son was recently beaten up, other students stole from him and he was kicked off the football team for smoking marijuana.

"What this all led to was more ostracization," she said. "I just know that the kid's been real sad for a long time."

Julie Milby said Wednesday she didn't know how her son got the gun that he took to school. The Associated Press couldn't immediately contact her for comment on the state police announcement regarding the gun because a phone number in her name wasn't found.

State and city leaders praised Officer Mark Dallas, a 15-year veteran of the Dixon Police Department, as a hero for confronting Milby.

Some students returned to the 800-student school about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Chicago on Thursday to retrieve belongings left behind when police evacuated the building. A new graduation rehearsal was planned for Thursday afternoon and the ceremony was still set for Sunday.

Sophomore Tanner Portner said he was surprised to learn Milby had been identified as the shooter.

"He seemed all right. I never would've expected him to do this," Portner said.

Dixon senior Brianna Johnson said she saw Milby enter the gym area with a gun, then heard several shots before a teacher slammed the door and students sprinted away.

"He seemed like a really nice kid, but then everything changed and he was angry and high all the time," Johnson said.

Matthew Milby is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated discharge at a school employee and aggravated discharge at a school building.

Sauk Valley Media reports Milby was convicted in April for a 2017 arrest for marijuana possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana and fined $120.

Milby said her son was supposed to take part in Sunday's graduation ceremony and that she's grateful more people weren't hurt.

"Thank God they didn't kill him, so that's a blessing," she said. "Thank God he didn't kill anybody else ... There is no justification for what he's done, and he will take full responsibility for that."

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Multiple students are dead after a shooting at a high school near Houston. According to law enforcement officials, a gunman entered a classroom in Santa Fe High School early Friday morning and began shooting.

The shooter, allegedly a student at the school, is in custody, and there are conflicting reports about how many fatalities have occurred, but Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has said 8 to 10 people have been killed and that a school officer has been injured.

Shortly after news outlets began reporting on the shooting, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his condolences, saying early reports were “not looking very good.”

This is the fifth mass shooting incident of 2018.
A shooting takes place outside of a high school graduation at Mt. Zion High School in Jonesboro, Georgia. One person is killed and another wounded.