About New Salem Elementary
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About Our School
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New Salem Elementary serves kindergarten to fifth-grade students and is located in Marshville. While we are small, we are mighty. We are thriving and developing leaders.
- Address: New Salem Elementary, 6106 Hwy 205, Marshville, NC 28103
- Phone: 704-296-3175
- Fax: 704-385-8554
- Staff Directory
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- Mission: Growing every Knight. Every day.
- Vision: New Salem empowers Knights to be innovative individuals, effective problem-solvers, and successful communicators by maintaining nurturing relationships within a safe, positive learning environment.
Fast Facts
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- Traditional Calendar
- Start Bell: 7:30 a.m.
- End Bell: 2 p.m.
- Mascot: Knights
- Colors: Teal and black
School History
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In the year 1925, seven different school districts, most of which were one-teacher schools, voted for a special school tax. In 1926, a 12-room brick school building, known as New Salem, was opened as the result of the consolidation of the seven school districts. The school opened its first year with three high school teachers.
Mr. J.E. Griffin was the first principal and served in this capacity for eight years. He succeeded in getting the school on an accredited list very soon.
In 1937, Olive Branch Elementary School was discontinued. Students from that area were consolidated with New Salem School in the summer of 1937, both elementary and high school students.
In 1949, the New Salem School building, which had been occupied for the first time in 1926, was declared unsafe. Temporary classrooms for elementary classes were then set up in two churches near the school grounds. The high school continued to have classes on the school grounds in a new brick building that was added to the school grounds in 1938 and a wooden frame building that housed the Home Economics and Agricultural Departments.
As soon as possible, a new modern school was erected at the same site of the condemned building. The new building was occupied in 1951.
New Salem's first and only gymnasium was also erected in 1951. This was done by the aid and labor of interested patrons of the community.
New Salem added a commercial department in the year 1938. Mr. M.B. Liles was the principal of the school at that time.
This school was known as New Salem High School until 1960, when the high school students, along with the two other high schools in the county consolidated, forming what is now Piedmont High School.
What was once New Salem High School is now New Salem Elementary School.
Meet Our School Leaders
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Kristen Sides (Principal)
About Mrs. Sides
My name is Kristen Sides and I am honored to join the New Salem community and school family. I am a proud mom of two boys, Maksen (11) and Jett (6), and wife of Dustin, whom I have been happily married to for 13 years.
I graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2005, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle Grades Education with a concentration in Math and Science. I started teaching middle school in Rowan County in 2005. In 2008, I moved to Stanly County where I served as a middle school teacher, coach, and athletic director until I graduated in 2017, from Gardner-Webb with a Master of Arts in Executive Leadership Studies. From there, I obtained a position as an Assistant Principal and Principal at South Stanly Middle School until 2022.
I have a passion for education and collaborating with families to address the instructional, social, and emotional needs of students. I look forward to working with the staff, students, and all stakeholders of the New Salem Community, to develop meaningful relationships that are student-centered and focused on the success of all kids.
Contact Mrs. Sides
- Email: kristen.sides@ucps.k12.nc.us
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Brittany Marshall (Assistant Principal)
About Mrs. Marshall
I am a native of Marshville, NC. I attended New Salem Elementary for Kindergarten, but then moved and attended Marshville Elementary, East Union Middle, and Forest Hills High. I currently live in Monroe with my husband, TJ, and our three daughters, Aria, Chandler, & Scarlett. I enjoy going to the beach, reading, watching the Tar Heels, and spending time with friends and family.
Educational Philosophy
School had such a positive influence on my life, so I became an educator in hopes of doing the same for others. I am passionate about helping others become the best version of themselves. I believe that positive relationships, rigor, and high expectations allow students and teachers to optimize their potential and success for themselves, the school, and the community.
Educational Background
For undergrad, I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Teaching Fellow. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a minor in Math, Science, and Technology. For graduate school, I received my Masters in Educational Leadership from High Point University as part of the High Point Leadership Academy (Principal Fellows).
Educational Work History
I taught at Rocky River Elementary in UCPS from 2014-2021 teaching 3rd and 5th grade. I also served as Lighthouse Coordinator for our Leader in Me Program and helped the school achieve Lighthouse Certification in 2019 and re-certification in 2021.
For the 2021-2022 school year, I completed my administrative internship at Forest Hills High School and served as the interim 6th-grade assistant principal for a short period of time at the Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle School.
I am excited to join the New Salem family and look forward to a successful year helping our students THRIVE!
Contact Mrs. Marshall
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School Performance Director
- Dr. Jennifer Topper
- 704-296-9898
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Professional Advisory Council Representatives
- Principal: Kristen Sides
- Representative: Natasha Higgins