Moore reflects on SHS tenure

SALISBURY Principal Dr. Marvin Moore announced his intentions to leave Salisbury High School earlier this week to take the principal job at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in 2026. Moore said he is excited about the next step of his personal journey, but called his departure bittersweet. “I gave all I could and was able to work with and build a really good foundation at Salisbury with some really good people and families,” Moore said. “I feel like I’m at a point where if I needed to leave this would be the time.” Moore became the principal at Salisbury High School over the summer of 2020. He came into the administrative position during a tumultuous time when the world was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and school officials were trying to figure out what the upcoming year would look like. Thanks to support from the surrounding Hornet community, Moore said they exceeded expectations. “We noticed that we had some work to do in some areas,” he said. “Jumped right to it. Had a very strong community in Salisbury who loved the school that jumped in and supported us both on the academic side, athletic side and the community side.” As for those academic achievements, Moore said he is particularly proud of the standards they set. “We were able to do some really special things here,” Moore said. “When you talk about academics, each year, we moved our composite scores up and met growth. This past year, we exceeded growth. “We really honed in on making sure our graduation rates went up for 70 percent to 85 percent in the last four to five years.” Off the field, Hornets were excelling under Moore. On the field, they were doing the same. “We also did a really good job, I felt like, of setting the expectation that we would be a state championship athletic program,” Moore said. “We have won a state championship in football, two in women’s basketball, one in golf last year. We won in track, both indoor and outdoor. “Then, on top of that, we made some deep playoff runs in every sport, tennis, women’s and men’s, almost every year. The same thing in soccer. We really just tried to make sure we were really competitive in all aspects of the word.” Some of Moore’s proudest accomplishments came through building community bonds. “I felt like the partnerships we were able to build with the churches and the booster club meant so much,” Moore said. “Promise City Church moved into the school and is doing a good job with us.” He pointed to partnering with Next Gen Academy, led by former Salisbury Hornets Romar Morris and John Knox, as one more of those relationships that made everyone better for it. However, it has not always been easy for Moore and the Hornet family. “We have had a lot of tough moments from student deaths to staff deaths, but we have galvanized around that work and been able to love each other,” Moore said. “One of my phrases is ‘We love like a family, function like a team.’ We have been able to do that and keep that in perspective.” That was just the impact that Moore wanted to have. “No one can say when I walked away from here that I did not love on our students and staff,” he said. “I did what I could to make sure I was present and that what we did mattered.” Moore mentioned that it was always about being forward faces and tackling things head on even when it was not easy. “I am really big on you should not be a coward in these spaces,” he said. “If you want to be a leader, you have to be willing to take the hits.” However, he acknowledged that having the right pieces around him helped make the mission a successful one. “I feel like I put a team around me of assistant principals that really helped to lead and I am really proud of what we have done,” he said. Moore has been working in the Rowan-Salisbury School System long enough that he has seen students he knew from elementary school graduate high school. He served as the principal and Isenberg Elementary before taking over at Salisbury. “A lot of these kids, some that graduated last year, I was their principal for 10 years,” Moore said, adding that being a part of those journeys is something he’ll always hold onto. Moore will miss the halls, but it is the people inside the building and the adjacent community that will stay with him. “I am going to miss that,” Moore said. “I tell people often. Until you have lived and worked in Salisbury and worked with the family in Salisbury, you don’t understand the true value of what happens here. It is magic, man.” It might be hard to say goodbye, but Moore believes this move is a step that he needs to take. “I’m going to miss it but it is time,” Moore said. “My wife said something the other night. Honestly, I was struggling with it. I am happy about the opportunity but I was struggling with leaving. She said two things can be right at the same time.” He added that he feels like this is one of those examples.
https://www.salisburypost.com/2025/11/23/moore-reflects-on-shs-tenure/