With a new principal at the helm, West Side Magnet School is returning to its roots.

“We’re getting back to our main focus being on the arts,” said Cynthia McCloud who moved to LaGrange this summer after 20 years in education in Coweta County. “It’s our theme for this year.”

The magnet school initially was created as a fine arts magnet school, but fears of budget cuts this summer had the school’s future in question.

“I’ve talked to (Superintendent Ed) Smith about it personally,” McCloud said this week, as she and her staff prepared for registration. “Mr. Smith is 100 percent behind this school being successful. Budget cuts are a reality across the board, that’s just the way it is. But the board and the superintendent are committed to make this school successful.”

McCloud already has reached out to LaGrange’s arts-rich community to be a partner with the school. At registration today, arts organizations from around the area will have tables set up side by side with teachers to promote programs.

It was the unique opportunity to lead a fine arts magnet school that brought McCloud to LaGrange, she said. She has a degree in speech and theater from the University of West Georgia and worked in public relations and newspapers before getting a teaching degree. She spent 20 years in Coweta County as a high school English teacher and administrator at the elementary and high school levels.

McCloud already has met with her staff and members of the parent-teacher organization to make sure everyone is focused on the same vision and improvement plan for the school.

“With the team I have here, my job is easy,” she said. “There’s so much talent and enthusiasm.”

Aside from reinvigorating the fine arts, another goal for the year is to focus on servant leadership and creating leaders at all levels.

“Everyone is a leader in some way, even if you’re not in a position of leadership,” she said.

Chosen leaders in the school also must remember to still serve others, she said.

“The more responsible you are for other people, the more responsible you are for serving,” McCloud said.

When she met individually with teachers and staff, McCloud said she asked how she might be able to serve them this year.

“I expect (the teachers) to ask their students the same question,” she said. “How can I serve you this year?”

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.