Meg Turner prepares for final graduation
Owen principal to step down after 11 years
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 23, 2022
Meg Turner, who has served as the principal of Owen High School since 2011, will step down after the school year. Photo by Fred McCormick
Meg Turner discovered a sense of kinship when she first explored the hallways of Owen High School as an assistant principal in 2001. The small school in a close-knit Appalachian community shared many similarities, including the color maroon, with her alma mater in the mountain town of Wytheville, Virginia.
The scenic Owen campus would become much like a second home for the career educator a decade later, when she returned in a new role as principal, and what she’s learned in the 11 years since will make it difficult to say goodbye.
“There is something special about his place,” said Turner, who will step down from her position as Owen’s lead administrator, following the 2021-22 graduation ceremony in Warhorse Stadium, Saturday, June 11. “It’s hard to leave this school, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve been here as long as I have. I love coming to work here every day, and that’s because of the people in this building.”
The decision to leave was a challenging one, she said, but her experience in the position offered her unique insight.
“People who have been in careers a long time always say, when it’s time, you know it,” said Turner, who has been a principal in Buncombe County for 17 years. “It has been clear to me the last couple of years that the time was coming, and this felt like the right time.”
The dynamic role of overseeing a high school with approximately 675 students requires an “incredible amount of energy and perseverance,” she continued.
“Because you’re serving roughly a thousand people every minute, really 24-7 in many ways, your day jumps from one thing to the next without much time to shift,” she said. “It really runs the gamut, and that takes a toll over time.”
Those challenges have been exacerbated by the residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Turner.
“I describe Owen as a beautiful sandcastle, because it’s been intricately designed, it’s well-connected, it serves its purpose and functions well,” she said. “Then we’ve had these COVID waves that have come through and slowly created these lumps in the sand. At this point, I think we need new energy and a new perspective to rebuild that.”
Turner grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, where she broke multiple state records on the basketball court before attending Vanderbilt University in 1981. She was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 2016.
She began her professional career as a special education teacher in Tennessee, prior to earning a Master’s Degree in School Administration from Harvard University. Turner came back to the southern Appalachians in the 1990s, spending time at Mars Hill University and UNC Asheville. She began her 21-year Buncombe County Schools career with a brief stint at Owen.
“I was here for two years as an assistant principal, under Bob Washel and Don Johnson,” she said. “I went to Cane Creek (Middle School) for two years, and I was offered the principalship at Buncombe County Early College, when it opened in 2005.”
Turner was eager to return to the Swannanoa Valley in her new role.
“I was very excited to come back here,” she said. “I knew it was an incredible opportunity.”
Much of her first year was dedicated to compiling and reviewing data while working with the community and stakeholders to develop a strategic plan for Owen.
“Out of that, we developed a direction for where we wanted to go,” she said. “We had a lot of pockets of excellence, but a lot of them were just moving in their own directions. We wanted to bring everyone together, focused in the same direction.”
The implementation of a common instructional framework proved effective in establishing and maintaining a consistent learning environment, according to Turner.
“This sets the same expectation for every student, teacher and classroom, everyday, to read, write, think, move and interact,” she said. “Those common practices helped us exceed growth. The year before COVID-19, we were in the top five schools in the state for that standard, and we exceeded those growth predictions four years in a row, leading up to the pandemic.”
Owen principal Meg Turner, who announced she is leaving the school after 11 years, will serve as the Assistant Director for Higher Education Partnership with GEAR UP, an Appalachian State University program that promotes access to college. Photo courtesy of Meg Turner
Owen received statewide recognition in 2019, when the N.C. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development presented the school with a Lighthouse Award. The annual distinction recognizes schools that implement innovative strategies that encourage student achievement, while developing and maintaining strong community partnerships.
“The community connections are really what makes this place special,” Turner said. “Whether it’s the Kiwanis Club, or the Rotary Club, or the N.C. State Veterans Home, or the Black Mountain Home for Children, we have so many partners in this community that help make this school strong and healthy.”
Strong backing from partners across the Swannanoa Valley will be crucial to the school’s continued success, she added.
“I’m deeply concerned about public education, because we do not have the resources we need to continue doing what’s been asked of us in the past, in addition to all of the new things that are being asked of us now,” Turner said. “The state will have to find ways to support public education in ways it hasn’t in the past. And, because I feel like our state doesn’t always provide the resources we need, we are incredibly fortunate to have a community that supports us.”
The principal lauds the 2015 installation of a digital school sign at the intersection of Lake Eden Road and Old U.S. 70 as an example of the school’s relationship with the community.
“We raised $28,000 for that project,” Turner said. “People all over this community, individuals and businesses, contributed to make that sign a reality. That shows you the Swannanoa Valley values public education, and the people appreciate Owen High School.”
While she is resigning from her position with the county, Turner will continue her career in education, serving as an Assistant Director for Higher Education Partnership with GEAR UP, an Appalachian State University program that promotes access to college in 10 districts in WNC. The program strives to increase the number of students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
“My family lives in the Owen District, and I really wanted to stay here,” she said. “This position was appealing because it allows us to do that, and it gives me an opportunity to create pathways to college for kids in our rural mountain communities.”
She will also be a regular attendee of Owen athletic events, where she will cheer for her daughter.
“She’ll be a senior next year, and she plays basketball and soccer, so I’ll be able to come watch her games, and just be a mom,” Turner said. “I won’t be a stranger, and you’ll definitely see me in the stands. I’m looking forward to that.”
As she looks ahead to her final commencement ceremony at Owen, Turner is grateful for her staff and optimistic about the school’s future.
“I have tremendous respect for the employees at Owen High School, and that’s everybody from the custodial staff, to our bus drivers, cafeteria and clerical staff,” she said. “A lot of these people live in this community, believe in this school and do the work they do for not a lot of thanks. Our teachers are incredible professionals who put the needs of the students in front of their own, and these are the people who will continue to be the backbone of this school.”