Dr. Drayton Hawkins, principal of Oak Ridge High School, has decided to join the Robertsville Middle School staff for the 2025-26 school year as assistant principal. The high school job has been posted and will remain open until June 18, 2025.

Dr. Beth Fisher Estep, assistant principal at Oak Ridge High School, has been named interim principal, effective immediately. Chris Williams, interim assistant principal at Robertsville Middle School, has been named assistant principal of Oak Ridge High School, also effective immediately.

The announcements came from the office of Bruce Borchers PhD, superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools.

Nick Corrigan, principal of Robertsville Middle School, has been deployed overseas since August 2024 and has an anticipated return date of September 2025. When he returns, he and current interim principal, Christy Free, will serve in tandem as Corrigan transitions back into the building.

“Having Dr. Hawkins in the building as assistant principal will provide critical administrative support that will allow Ms. Free to focus on supporting Mr. Corrigan as he reacclimates to the role of principal,” according to the release.

Oak Ridge High School is a public high school, enrolling grades 9-12. It was established in 1943 by the U.S. Army to educate the children of Manhattan Project workers. It is ranked by Niche.com as the third best high school of 38 in Knox and surrounding counties.

Interestingly, both Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton graduated from Oak Ridge High School, though not in the same year.