Christa Turner named principal at Jefferson

Christa Turner, assistant principal at Jackson Middle School and a nine-year veteran of education, was named principal of Cape Girardeau's Jefferson Elementary School for the 2012-2013 school year during an executive session of the Cape Girardeau Board of Education last week.

"I'm excited about my new challenge and about returning to Cape Public Schools," Turner said. "I've heard wonderful things about the staff and students at Jefferson and I'm looking forward to joining them in August." Jefferson Elementary has an enrollment of 360 students.

Turner is in her fifth year as assistant principal at Jackson Middle School. She was previously a sixth-grade communication arts and math instructor at Jackson Middle School. She also served one year at Kelso and one year in Cape Girardeau teaching seventh-grade math. She earned her bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State University and her master's from University of Missouri. She is the mother of three children ages nine, two and one. She is a resident of Jackson and is married to O. J. Turner, a 2001 Cape Central High School alumni.