Levi T. Robinson Jr. has fond memories of visiting his grandparents in Sandy Hook as a child. Now the veteran educator from Madison will be returning to Marion County to lead Jefferson Middle School.
The Columbia school board recently approved Robinson to succeed Raymond Powell, who is retiring after 22 years as principal.
“My father is from Sandy Hook and my grandmother, who will be 104 this July, is there,” Robinson said Wednesday as he spoke about his new role and his career. “I used to spend my summers here. It’s been my goal to be a lead principal. I’ve been very selective about that. I have two children, and my son just graduated from high school, and I didn’t want to leave until he finished. After he finished and this opportunity came along, I was very interested in it.”
Robinson has two children, a daughter, Kayla, 22, and a son, Tilon, 18.
He said he heard good things about Jason Harris from Harris’s time in Tupelo and felt good about the opportunity and moving closer to his father.
Robinson, who has been in education for 22 years, spent the last six as assistant middle school principal over the eighth-grade in Madison, said the move is a good progression for him. He grew up in Itta Bena and graduated from Leflore County High School.
“My very first job was in a middle school,” he sad. “I began teaching sixth-grade straight out of college (Alcorn State) at Hawkins Middle School in Hattiesburg. I was out of middle school for 11 year years and was teaching and coaching in the Jackson Public Schools for 11 years at Calloway High School. I taught tech discovery there and I was the head baseball coach for several years as well as an assistant football coach. When I got done coaching, my first job as an administrator was at Natchez Middle School. I’ve been an administrator for 11 years. It’s what I know. I love the age – to see those kids go from sixth- through-eighth-grade and mature is very challenging. You can deal with the same kid, but deal with the same kid with three different personalities in one week. I love it; I love working with this age level.”
Harris said there were 29 applicants for the job, but Robinson was one of two that rose to the top. He said the middle school in Madison is the fifth-rated in the state and one grade there has 400 students, the size of the all three grades at Jefferson.
Harris said that preparation should make for an easy transition and he looks forward to what Robinson will accomplish.
“One thing I heard consistently as I did my background on him was ‘consistent,’” Harris said. “He’s very approachable and a very businesslike person – I say that in a good way. In the school business, we’re dealing with children, but you still have to have a brisk, businesslike environment. We have to run our organizations very businesslike. His current superintendent spoke very highly of him.”
Robinson spent some time at Jefferson Middle School during the day Wednesday meeting staff and students.
“I had a very good first impression,” he said. “I had lunch with the seventh-grade students. I visited with them and they were very inquisitive. They were not shy about asking me questions.”
Following Powell will be a difficult task, according to Robinson.
“He’s been there 22 years,” Robinson said. “He’s very friendly, a great guy. Today was his birthday, so today was Raymond Powell Day. Each grade did a tribute to him. He was very loved and respected by the kids, so I am following in the shoes of someone that is a pillar of the community. He’s well loved by the school district and the community. I just hope the community gives me a chance to come in and they get a chance to know me and I get a chance to know them and we can work together.
Robinson said he wants the school is about the community and needs the community’s help to be successful.
“Where I come from in Madison County, parental involvement is huge. I want that same thing here at Jefferson Middle School. I want parents to support us in everything that we do – academics, athletics, social, extracurricular activities such as band and cheerleading,” he said. “The most important thing is to get them out there supporting us in our academic efforts so that we can get this school to be one of the top middle schools in the state.”
