Staff Report

A familiar face will lead South Panola High School next school year as Jason Matthews was  named principal effective July 1. Current SPHS principal Rodney Flower recently informed the Board of Trustees he will retire at the end of this semester.

Matthews, who has served as the 9th grade principal since the 2016-17 school year, has 25 years experience in education. He was a teacher and coach at schools in Hernando and Clarksdale before becoming assistant principal at Batesville Junior High School in 2011 and assistant principal at SPHS in 2015.

A native of Clarksdale, Matthews earned a bachelor’s in public administration from Ole Miss before obtaining a master’s in education leadership at Delta State University.

He and his wife, Ginny, have been married 25 years and have two daughters: Bailey, who attends Delta State and Mallory, who attends Ole Miss.