ABOUT CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

Cumberland County High School (CHS) is a compressive, public high school located in the town of Cumberland, Virginia. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9 -12, operating on a 7 period day.

Students may choose from a variety of academic, vocational, and fine arts courses. CHS offers Governors School courses on the campus of Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) and Dual Enrollment courses in conjunction with SVCC.

MEET THE ADMIN TEAM

Mrs. Missy Shores, Principal

Mrs. Shores, a former teacher and assistant to the principal at Cumberland High School, comes to the division from Hopewell City Public Schools, where she was the Director of Personnel. Mrs. Shores has had varied experiences in education. She has been the Activities Director for Buckingham County Public Schools and the principal of Bluestone Middle School. In addition to teaching geography and history at Cumberland, she also coached volleyball, cross country, girls basketball, and softball. Mrs. Shores holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education from Grove City College in Pennsylvania and a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from Longwood University. She holds a Virginia teaching license in History and Social Science as well as a license in Administration and Supervision.

Dr. Elif Kalemdaroglu-Wheeler, Assistant Principal

Dr. Elif Kalemdaroglu-Wheeler holds a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts with concentrations in Political Science and Economics and a Minor in Business. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in Leadership in Education at the University of Notre Dame of Maryland. In addition, she received her Post-Master's Educational Leadership and Administration certification from George Washington University. Her doctoral degree is in Educational Leadership, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix. She has 25 years of experience teaching Special Education, Social Studies, and Science at middle and high school grade levels and in K-12 school administration. She is currently in line to obtain her Master of Jurisprudence with a concentration in Education Law and Special Education Advocacy at St. Mary's University School of Law.

As an instructional leader, she mentored new teachers and served as a Department Chair, Behavior Intervention Coordinator, Dean of Students, Athletic Director, Instructional Coach, Head of Academy, and Director of Virtual Curriculum and Instruction in K-12 settings. She founded Capella Educational Services, LLC., which provides educational consulting, coaching, and mentoring services for doctoral candidates. She is a passionate educator and wishes to continue researching educational leadership practice and become a change agent in educational policy-making. Her dissertation, Perceptions of Test Score Pollution Stemming from COVID-19 and State Testing: An Exploratory Case Study, won the Dissertation of the Year 2023 award. She is a Fellow in Residence with the Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research and the Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research at the University of Phoenix. She serves on the Board of the Virginia Educational Research Association as Secretary. She was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2021. Dr. Wheeler served as a Special Educator last year at CHS and moved into her new role as an Assistant Principal in September 2024.