‘She has touched the lives of so many.’ Longtime Raleigh principal Dana King has died.
Dana King, the longtime principal of Millbrook High School in Raleigh, died on Saturday just a month before she was to retire from the school.
Sebastian Shipp, an assistant principal at Millbrook High, said King’s family notified the school that she had died unexpectedly on Saturday morning. No cause of death has been announced.
King, 65, had been principal of Millbrook High since 2003 and had announced plans to retire on April 29. Grief counselors will be at the school on Monday to help students and school employees, Shipp said.
“We are trying to make sure that as we move forward in supporting everyone in this loss, not only to give people the space to be sad but to give the appropriate space to celebrate a life that was well lived,” Shipp said in an interview Saturday evening.
In honor of King’s memory and after talking with students, Shipp said the school decided to go ahead with Saturday evening’s spring musical.
‘Exemplary leadership’
King joined the Wake County school system in 1986 as an English teacher at Sanderson High School in Raleigh. She would later go on to become an assistant principal at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh.
She became principal of East Millbrook Middle School in Raleigh in 1999 before taking over at Millbrook High four years later.
Among King’s many accolades, she was named the Wake County school system’s Principal of the Year in 2010.
The school district praised King’s legacy in a email Saturday to principals announcing her death.
“We are grateful for the exemplary leadership, outstanding service, and unwavering dedication she has provided during her remarkable tenure with WCPSS,” the Wake County Public School System said in the email. “Throughout her career, she has had such a positive, long-lasting impact on students, staff, parents, our community, and our district.
“She has touched the lives of so many. We will continue to share information as it becomes available to us. Again, please keep her family, colleagues, and school community in your prayers during this difficult time.”
‘Dana King Day’
On March 1, the school district announced that Brian Saunders, the principal of Baucom Elementary School in Apex and the former principal of Asheboro High School, would become Millbrook’s new principal.
Monday was a teacher workday where there were no classes so Millbrook held “Dana King Day.” The surprise ceremony included speeches and gifts, including a statue of King that will be erected at the school.
“We are very glad and fortunate that we were able to take Monday as a day not just to celebrate her life but what she has provided as a leader in education,” Shipp said.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 6:59 PM.
