Glenn Starnes earns The Post’s top educator prize

COURTESY GLENN STARNES

Harding University High School principal Glenn Starnes is The Charlotte Post Foundation's 2023 Educator of the Year for his work to restore campus culture and improve academic achievement since his appointment in 2022.

Harding University High School Principal Glenn Starnes says “a spirit of excellence” drives Harding University High’s reascent to an institution of choice for students and their parents.  

“If we can’t do it well, we shouldn’t do it,” is Starnes’ simple rule, and it’s working on the westside campus. Praise for Starnes comes from Harding’s surrounding neighborhoods as well as those who work with him at the school.

It also earned him The Charlotte Post Foundation’s Educator of the Year award. He’ll be honored at the foundation’s banquet on Oct. 7.

“Glenn Starnes is making a difference in the lives of young people at Harding University High with genuine concern for each individual and passion for learning,” said Gerald Johnson, president of The Charlotte Post Foundation and publisher of The Charlotte Post. “He is restoring respect for academics and appreciation for achievement.”

Starnes, 37, faced significant challenges when he took over in 2022. The combination of losing a respected principal and the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with attendance boundary shifts, took a toll. Harding’s performance had dropped into the bottom 5% of North Carolina’s public high schools.

Harding assistant principal Carrisa Johnson-Scott remembers the turmoil following the death of beloved principal Eric Ward Sr. and appreciates the turnaround Starnes is engineering.  

“Mr. Starnes has done a great job creating a culture where we focus on instruction and taking care of the whole child,” she said.

Today, Harding is fully staffed, daily student attendance is approaching 90% and the four-year graduation is close to 75%.  

“Loving on folks” is Starnes’ explanation for the continuing transformation. His theme is “Return of the Rams,” a nod to Harding’s mascot. Attention to staff wellness includes a dress-down option for Wednesdays and Fridays. Teachers have an instructional coach for support and feedback. Starnes’ goal: “Every person on the team moves from good to great.”  

Starnes-instituted student activities include outdoor days that feature music, games and snacks.  A partnership with Stratford-Richardson YMCA makes Friday celebrations possible. Using various federal funds, Starnes assembled a team of counselors, social workers and psychologists to address students’ emotional needs.
Reaching out to students’ families, a food ministry partnership makes a “refrigerator restock” possible.  

“No one goes without food over an extended break,” Starnes said.   Families that connect to Harding through food giveaways often get involved with the PTSA and find other ways to advocate for their student.  The campus is safe, he says, adding its calm atmosphere often surprises visitors.  

Starnes’ servant-leadership is what assistant principal Karen Archie most appreciates. Archie moved with Starnes when he left South Mecklenburg High for Harding.  

“He’s a people person,” she said, “grateful to be of service to others.” The hardest worker in the building is how Jamie Hrbolich, another assistant principal at Harding, describes Starnes.  

“He comes in early, stays late. From cleaning hallways to teaching a class and working with parents, he does it all,” says Hrbolich, who also worked with Starnes at South Mecklenburg.  

Another transfer from South Meck is math coach Errol Brow, who praises Starnes’ organizational skills.  

“I like that organization because I can plan around that,” he said.  Love of education came naturally to Starnes. His mother Shawn, who taught him in the eighth grade, still teaches in his hometown of Winston-Salem. Starnes earned a bachelor’s in business and secondary education at Virginia Union University and a master’s in educational leadership at Regent University. He taught in Richmond, Va., and worked in school administration in Washington, D.C., and Winston-Salem.  

Mentor Denise Watts was a CMS Learning Community Superintendent when she encouraged Starnes to come to Charlotte. Now chief of schools for the Houston Independent School District in Texas, she met Starnes when he was an elementary school principal in Winston-Salem. The South Mecklenburg High principalship opened and he took it.  

“Charlotte got a true treasure when he was hired,” says Watts, who also oversaw CMS’s Project LIFT. “He’s the kind of person people want to follow.”

Starnes professes love for Harding and doesn’t see himself leaving anytime soon. Farther down the road, though, he’d like to be a school superintendent, or maybe win election to a school board, city council or county commission. He sometimes dreams of working in his family’s business, Gilmore Memorial Funeral Home, which has locations in Winston-Salem and Lexington.   

Whatever comes next will involve cooperative efforts.  “I believe in building connections with individuals,” he says. “That allows people to follow you and buy into your vision.” 

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