Mortellus
Dec 2, 2025
Kristilee Newton succeeded Lisa Stepp in 2024, bringing more than a decade of educational leadership experience to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. Less than a year later, the Academy publicly affirmed that Newton would continue leading its Grammar School. Nevertheless, Newton subsequently departed, and Jason Byrd assumed the position, marking a second principal change in a relatively short period.
What happened: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy underwent another change in Grammar School leadership following the relatively brief tenure of Principal Kristilee Newton, who succeeded Lisa Stepp during the summer of 2024. Newton's appointment followed a particularly contentious period at the Academy. During the preceding spring and summer, TJCA faced public controversy over its treatment of LGBTQ+ families, allegations concerning the disclosure of students' private information, and questions about the involvement of school employees in hostile public discussions. Stepp's departure occurred during that controversy, and Newton assumed responsibility for the Grammar School as the Academy prepared to begin its 2024–2025 academic year. TJCA publicly welcomed Newton as an experienced administrator with more than ten years of educational leadership experience. She was presented as someone committed to maintaining high academic standards and the principles of classical education.
On August 14, 2024, Newton was identified as Grammar School principal in the Academy's announcement celebrating the beginning of its 25th anniversary year. Eight months later, amid another significant administrative reorganization, TJCA expressly announced that Newton would continue in her position. However, that continuity did not last.
By October 2026, TJCA's official leadership directory identified Jason Byrd as Grammar School principal, confirming that Newton had departed and the Academy had undergone a second leadership transition since Stepp's departure. The precise date and circumstances of Newton's departure remain unexplained in the public announcements reviewed for this entry.
What was established:
Summer 2024: Newton succeeds Lisa Stepp
Following Lisa Stepp's departure from the Grammar School principalship, TJCA announced Kristilee Newton as her successor. The Academy emphasized Newton's professional experience, describing her as bringing more than ten years of school leadership in public and charter schools.
Its appointment announcement also highlighted her commitment to classical education, academic rigor, and maintaining the school's established educational philosophy.
Newton was therefore presented not as a novice administrator entering her first leadership assignment, but as an experienced educator recruited to lead the Grammar School during a period of significant change. Her appointment followed the June 2024 controversy involving a prospective TJCA family who had raised concerns about the alleged disclosure of their children's identifying information.
Stepp had been among the administrators contacted by the family during that dispute. The family's June 3 email to Stepp, seeking answers after discovering the alleged disclosure, received no response from her.
The apparent vacancy in Stepp's position was subsequently discussed publicly, with one community member reporting that it had been advertised as early as June 6. Newton's appointment thus occurred against a backdrop of questions about administrative accountability, parental trust, and the continuity of school leadership.
August 14, 2024: Newton begins the academic year as principal
TJCA's August 2024 announcement commemorating the Academy's 25th anniversary confirmed Newton's position as Grammar School principal. In the announcement, Newton discussed the work undertaken by teachers and staff to welcome students at the beginning of the academic year. Her inclusion alongside Executive Director Jason Cole and Associate Executive Director Jodi Isaacs established her as one of the Academy's principal administrative leaders. The announcement presented the beginning of the school year as an optimistic period for TJCA, with the administration emphasizing institutional stability, academic achievement, and continued development.
April 21, 2025: TJCA expressly confirms Newton will remain principal
On April 21, 2025, TJCA announced another significant leadership reorganization. Executive Director Jason Cole resigned from his executive position, although the Academy stated he would remain High School principal through the remainder of the school year. Associate Executive Director and Middle School Principal Jodi Isaacs assumed responsibility as the Academy's new executive director and acting middle school principal. Amid these changes, TJCA specifically stated that Kristilee Newton would continue serving as Grammar School principal. This announcement is an important piece of evidence because Newton's continued employment was not merely implied by her appearance in an outdated staff directory. The Academy affirmatively identified her as a continuing member of its leadership team while publicly explaining other administrative departures and appointments. The announcement also expressed appreciation for the administrators involved and emphasized the Board's commitment to maintaining a smooth transition.
Nevertheless, Newton subsequently departed the Grammar School principalship.
Newton's earlier educational career
Public records establish that Newton possessed substantial educational experience before joining TJCA. On June 17, 2022, a document supporting North Carolina's participation in an innovative student assessment initiative identified Newton as the assistant principal for middle school and K–12 testing coordinator at Lake Lure Classical Academy. Her name also appears in historical employment records associated with Rutherford County Schools in 2022. A South Carolina School Improvement Council report for the 2023–2024 academic year subsequently identified Newton as an administrative assistant principal at Chapin Elementary School. These records document experience in school administration, testing coordination, and educational leadership across multiple institutions and school systems before her appointment at TJCA. That background is important when considering the brevity of her tenure. Newton arrived with an established administrative career. Her subsequent departure was not the end of that career.
Newton subsequently appears in Cleveland County Schools
Cleveland County Schools' Exceptional Children department currently identifies Kristilee Newton as an Exceptional Children instructional coach. The listing establishes that Newton is publicly associated with another area school district in a professional role involving special education instruction and support. Her employment in that department is a significant subsequent development because it places her educational career outside TJCA following her period as Grammar School principal. Historical Rutherford County Schools listings should not be confused with this more recent evidence. Newton's earlier association with Rutherford County Schools means that her appearance in an online directory for that district does not independently establish that she returned there after leaving TJCA. The Cleveland County Schools listing provides a more specific and directly verifiable indication of her subsequent professional role.
Jason Byrd succeeds Newton
TJCA's current leadership directory identifies Jason Byrd as Grammar School principal. The school's enrollment information also directs prospective Grammar School families to Byrd when arranging visits or requesting information. These official records confirm that Newton no longer occupies the position she held during the 2024–2025 academic year.
Lisa Stepp served as Grammar School principal for approximately two years, from 2022 until the summer of 2024. Her successor, Kristilee Newton, served through most of the 2024–2025 academic year and was still publicly identified as principal in April 2025, although the exact date of her departure remains unclear. Jason Byrd has since become the Academy's third Grammar School principal in this succession, marking two leadership changes in just a few years. How long Byrd will remain in the position is yet to be seen.
Why it matters: Administrative continuity matters in any school, but particularly in an elementary setting where families rely on consistent leadership to address student welfare, educational accommodations, disciplinary concerns, and communication with teachers. The principal serves as an important point of accountability for parents whose children may be too young to independently navigate problems involving school personnel or institutional policies.
TJCA's Grammar School experienced two changes in that position within a relatively short period.
The first followed a contentious summer involving allegations of student privacy violations, parental complaints, and questions about the Academy's response to concerns about discrimination and safety. The second followed the Academy's explicit public assurance that Newton would continue leading the Grammar School during a broader administrative reorganization. That contrast is the central significance of the second transition: TJCA publicly identified Newton as part of its continuing leadership in April 2025, yet she subsequently departed without a publicly located explanation. The available evidence does not establish whether her departure resulted from resignation, dismissal, contract expiration, or another arrangement. It does, however, establish a pattern of leadership turnover deserving documentation and closer examination, particularly given the Academy's stated commitment to stability and continuity.
Original evidence:
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, Newton tabbed as Grammar School Principal. Official appointment announcement identifying Newton as Lisa Stepp's successor and describing her prior leadership experience.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, TJCA marks 25th anniversary with enthusiasm, August 2024. Identifies Newton as Grammar School principal at the opening of the 2024–2025 academic year.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, Press Release: TJCA Announces Personnel Changes, April 21, 2025. Announces Jason Cole's resignation from the executive director role, Jodi Isaacs's promotion, and Newton's continued service as Grammar School principal.
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, Leadership Directory. Identifies Jason Byrd as Grammar School principal as of October 2026.
Cleveland County Schools, Exceptional Children Department — Meet Our Team. Lists Kristilee Newton as an EC instructional coach.
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction supporting documentation, June 17, 2022, letter from Lake Lure Classical Academy. Identifies Newton as a middle school assistant principal and K–12 testing coordinator.
Chapin Elementary School, 2023–2024 School Improvement Council report. Identifies Newton as an administrative assistant principal.
Subsequent developments: By October 2026, Jason Byrd had replaced Kristilee Newton as Grammar School principal. Newton was also listed in Cleveland County Schools' Exceptional Children department as an instructional coach, indicating that she had continued her educational career beyond TJCA. The specific date of Newton's departure and Byrd's appointment has not yet been established through a dated transition announcement.
The April 21, 2025, statement provides the last confirmed point in the reviewed chronology at which TJCA expressly identified Newton as its continuing Grammar School principal. The Academy's later leadership directory establishes that the transition had occurred by October 2026.
A more precise timeline could be established through Board minutes, staff announcements, vacancy postings, employment records, and school communications from the summer of 2025 onward.
An additional question concerns the school's procedures for preserving continuity when leadership changes. Records identifying who assumed responsibility for pending parental grievances, exceptional children's services, and unresolved administrative matters during each transition would help explain the practical effects of this turnover. TJCATruth.com welcomes contemporaneous announcements, historical employment postings, Board records, and correspondence documenting Newton's departure and Byrd's appointment. Materials establishing the timing of the transition, its public announcement, and any changes in Grammar School administrative procedures are particularly relevant.
Report from the community: The available public record documents Newton's appointment, her continued service through at least April 2025, and her subsequent replacement. It does not include a firsthand account from Newton explaining her experience as Grammar School principal or the circumstances of her departure. TJCATruth.com has not yet received independent firsthand testimony from families or staff specifically concerning Newton's transition out of the Academy.
The broader historical context includes the accounts of families who raised concerns about TJCA's administration during the summer of 2024, immediately before Newton assumed the principalship. Those accounts establish the circumstances surrounding the preceding leadership transition, rather than an explanation for Newton's later departure.
We welcome firsthand accounts from parents, teachers, administrators, and community members who worked with Newton, participated in the 2024–2025 Grammar School community, or observed the subsequent transition to Jason Byrd. We are particularly interested in when families and staff first learned Newton would be leaving, how the change was communicated, whether anyone provided an explanation, and how the Academy handled matters requiring administrative continuity. Individuals with relevant firsthand experiences are encouraged to contact TJCATruth.com. Requests for anonymity will be respected, and identifying information will not be published without the contributor's explicit consent. All submissions will be handled with discretion and confidentiality.