Students and staff are adjusting to policies and procedures from new principal Dr. John Sherrill.
“My goal for this year is to raise the bar and make sure we’re doing everything we can to give students skills that make them ready for the workplace,” Dr. Sherrill said.
AP English teacher Carol Campbell said Dr. Sherrill will be an “asset’ to the school district.
“He is more than willing to share his experiences to ensure success,” Ms. Campbell said.
Ms. Campbell has worked under eight principals in her years of teaching at the high school.
“This is the first principal I have worked with that has a Ph.D. in curriculum,” Ms. Campbell said. “I feel his level of expertise will help us academically.”
Dr. Sherrill said it’s a “unique environment” working during a pandemic.

“Trying to coordinate efforts has been tough. We are unsure about some our resources; whether or not we can receive financial help or supplies if we need it,” he said. “Luckily, we have a lot of online sources.”The Commissioner of Education has held several meetings with school leaders across Texas because “the data is constantly changing” according to Dr. Sherrill.
“Understanding the science and the hype behind the virus is what we had to do to prepare for the school year,” Dr. Sherrill said. “Another problem with managing COVID-19 issues was trying to balance the local abilities and needs with the nationwide trends. “
There are two new dual credit courses available to students that were brought on by Superintendent C.D. Knobloch, Counselor Leslie Graham, and Dr. Sherrill. Medical Assisting and Certified Nurse’s Aid classes are both taught by Dawn Delacy and educator at Vernon College.
“It is important to bring skills that make students ready for college,” Dr. Sherrill said.
Senior Jacob Wadley is taking the Medical Assisting course.
“The class is a much slower pace than a regular college class, but is still a college credit,” Wadley said. “Having this class has opened me up to push through the door for college choices.”
One difference for high school students this year is the new cell phone policy. Students are not allowed to use their cell phones in passing periods, classrooms and lunch unless given permission to.
“This rule was rooted to preserve each educational minute of the day because any minute could change a student’s life,” he said. “I want students to be thinking about the classroom instead of their next message.”
Senior Emily Salyers said she likes the new cell phone policy.
“It helps me pay attention in class, but I wish we could have them at lunch,” Salyers said.
Another new part of students’ school day is lunch schedules. Freshman and sophomores eat at the beginning of the lunch period and juniors and seniors eat during the second half of the period.
“We separated the lunches to control the population in the cafeteria because with everybody in there, people are not six feet apart,” Dr. Sherrill said. “This was a precaution we needed to take.”
Dr. Sherrill chose to administrate here because he went to school here from kindergarten through third grade.
“I love the Archer community,” Dr. Sherrill said.