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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

Van Clements has been named the assistant principal for Jemison Intermediate School.

Clements was approved for the position to replace Jackie Dejarnette during a Feb. 22 meeting of the Chilton County Board of Education.

Dejarnette has accepted a job at the Alabama State Department of Education.

A position in administration is something Clements has thought about for a while.

“I enjoy spending time with people, leading people,” Clements said. “My father was an administrator, so I kind of grew up seeing it. I always tell people education was our family business because everyone in my family in some form or fashion was in education.”

Clements completed his master’s degree in instructional leadership in the summer of 2020.

In his new position, Clements said he is looking forward to being involved in daily operations and disciplinary issues as well as anything else that is needed.

“I want to learn every bit of it,” Clements said. “Being a young administrator, there are some things that I know but there are also some things that I don’t know, so I am just going to go in open minded and ready to learn things on the fly.”

Clements is in his 10th year as a Chilton County Schools employee. In that time, he has been a P.E. teacher for Jemison High School and Jemison Intermediate School, in addition to coaching basketball, football and baseball.

“I am very passionate about the Jemison community, and I have always wanted to give back,” Clements said. “I am here for the students and for what is best for the students, I will always put them first and their needs first and I will always put the needs of my faculty first. The best interest of Jemison intermediate is what I am going to push for.”