After teaching for ten years in Fulton County and three years in Caroline County, Virginia, Assistant Principal Clifton Spears has finally found his new home. Prior to becoming the assistant principal at Chamblee, Spears worked many jobs in education, varying from a Health and PE teacher to an administrative assistant. But, before any of this, Spears was just a young kid looking to help people.
Spears was born in Meridian, Mississippi and quickly found a love for nurturing and teaching through sports. The training and helping aspect is what led him to a career in education.
“When I was in high school, I had some really good teachers, in particular my coach, Coach Mack. I think it was just the nurturing that pushed me into wanting to give back,” said Spears.
After high school, Spears went on to attend Tennessee State University on an athletic scholarship as a trainer for the school’s football, girl’s basketball, and baseball teams. He then started his teaching career at County Caroline High School in Virginia. However, after three years in Virginia, Spears decided to embark on a new journey.
“I did take a 12-year hiatus from education when I first moved to Georgia, and I actually went into restaurant management. So I was the general manger for the likes of Chili’s, Applebee’s, O’Charley’s, Lonestar Steakhouse, and Uncle Bud’s Catfish and Seafood. So I did that for about 12 years and realized I was really missing education and I needed to get back in it,” said Spears.
After realizing his true calling, Spears returned to education as a Health and P.E. teacher at Martin Luther King Middle School, and then working his way through different positions like the department chair of Health and P.E. Finally, he became an administrative assistant at Tri Cities High School.
“For me leaders are born, so you are always going to carry yourself in that leadership role and you have that build about yourself. And I was actually kind of happy in my role. I was the department chair for PE, I was coaching girl’s basketball, girl’s lacrosse and had coached girl’s softball. And just going to department chair meetings and doing things around school, one of the assistant principals who became my mentor called me into her office and said ‘Hey, I’m getting ready to go out on medical leave, and you are going to be me for the next six weeks.’ And then after that the principal made some changes and everyone had to reapply for their positions so I ended up becoming an administrative assistant,” said Spears.
After staying at Tri Cities High School for about ten years, Spears was ready for a change, which is when he decided to join our Bulldog family.
What drew Spears to Chamblee was not only it’s current status but the thought of a new challenge.
“When I got offered the position, I was excited about it, I was excited about the move and trying something different,” said Spears.
While Spears is still trying to get familiar with the school and his new duties as an assistant principal, he also has other responsibilities to take care of like his family and catering business.
Spears has been married for 27 years and has two children: a daughter, 24, and a son, 26. His daughter has decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and is now a P.E. teacher in Rockdale County while his son has become a project manager.
Along with his family Spears has one more prized possession: his company, C and N Catering.
“I do have a catering business that I work with on the side. I use it as more as just a passion rather than a real career path. I have my customers that I cater to on specific occasions every year but other than that I don’t do much with it,” said Spears.
Aside from his company and family, Spears loves to cook and golf in his free time and is now just focusing on trying to learn the Chamblee way and prepare great things for it’s future.
“Looking at the numbers and the test scores and just looking at where Chamblee was and I think where Chamblee could be and I am just excited to be a positive impact in trying to help move Chamblee even higher,” said Spears.
