Kingsport City Schools
Dr. Chris Hampton was named permanent Superintendent of Kingsport City Schools (KCS) in March 2023. Prior to that, Hampton served as Interim Superintendent of Kingsport City Schools (KCS) from November 2022 - March 2023. In his 26 years as an educator in KCS, he has served as a special education teacher, school counselor, assistant principal, curriculum coordinator, and has spent the last 11+ years as the principal at Dobyns-Bennett High School.
In addition to numerous accolades earned by Dobyns-Bennett High School and numerous presentations over the years, Dr. Hampton has been named the 2021-2022 State of Tennessee Principal of the Year, received the 2019 University of Tennessee Field Award for Secondary Principal of the Year, named the 2019 Distinguished TRIO Alumni by ETSU, proclaimed by the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman that April 15, 2002 was Chris Hampton Day, and named the 2000 TARGET Tennessee Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Hampton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from East Tennessee State University (ETSU), a Master’s degree in Counseling from ETSU, and a Doctorate degree in Educational Policy and Leadership Analysis from ETSU.
Kingsport City Schools
Follow me on Twitter: @AndyTrueKCS
Dr. Andy True has served as Assistant Superintendent – Administration since March 2016. He is responsible for the leadership and implementation of the district’s administrative functions and departments. Dr. True has previously served as the KCS Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing all system communications and community relations, managing district administrative duties, and completing special projects for the district.
In his 20+ years with KCS, Dr. True has also served as a 4th and 5th grade classroom teacher and elementary school associate principal. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and a Master’s degree in Education from Milligan University, and an Educational Specialist degree and a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from East Tennessee State University.
Dr. True has held leadership positions on several community-related governing boards, including serving as the Chair of the United Way of Greater Kingsport Children and Youth Vision Council and Chair of the “United We Read” Early Grades Literacy Initiative. He has served on the Eastman Community Advisory Panel, the Greater Kingsport Family YMCA Board of Directors, the Leadership Council of the STRONG Accountable Care Community, and the Board of Examiners for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence.
He has been married for 25 years to his wife, Annette (a teacher in Kingsport), and has two children who have attended Kingsport City Schools; a son who is a Senior at Dobyns-Bennett High School and a daughter who is a Sophomore at Milligan University.
Kingsport City Schools
Follow me on Twitter: @RhondaStringham
Kingsport City Schools
David Frye, Chief Finance Officer, has spent most of his professional career with Kingsport City Schools. In 1991, he was hired as the Manager of Fiscal Affairs. The main responsibility of this position is budget preparation and oversight. Additional duties include payroll and procurement supervision. In 2013, he was named Chief Finance Officer.
Previous to Kingsport City Schools, Mr. Frye was employed with the City of Kingsport as an accountant and was in the position of accounting supervisor.
Mr. Frye is a graduate of Dobyns-Bennett High School and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting from East Tennessee State University.
He and his wife, Susan, have one child, Preston.
Jennifer Guthrie has been employed by Kingsport City Schools since July 2015. Prior to joining KCS, she served as human resources manager and corporate council for United Coal Company in Blountville, Tennessee, a leading metallurgical coal producer employing a 1,300 person non-union workforce.
Mrs. Guthrie has more than a decade of legal and human resources experience working with legal firms in Miami, FL and Knoxville, TN as a corporate attorney. Early in her career, she also spent time as a high school teacher and volleyball coach/sponsor in Miami.
Mrs. Guthrie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Tennessee State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in both Florida and Tennessee.
She and her family reside in Kingsport.
Kingsport City Schools
Kingsport City Schools
Kingsport City Schools
Follow me on Twitter: @CinnamonDr
Kingsport City Schools
Follow me on Twitter: @andyarnold2