Hello Topsail Middle School Community:

I wanted to take a minute to officially introduce myself and share a little bit about my vision for Topsail Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year.

I have been married to my beautiful wife, Erin (also in education) for 24 years and have 3 children (21,15,14). As a family, we enjoy anything on the water (fresh or salt).

I am entering my 17th year in education, all of them coming in North Carolina. I started my career teaching in Fayetteville (Terry Sanford, and Cape Fear) before moving to the Wilmington area as I transitioned into an administrative role. As a school administrator, I spent some time in New Hanover and Brunswick County schools as well as some time working for a charter school. I learned several valuable skills and strategies in each of those districts and I hope to bring everything I have learned to make Topsail Middle School one of the best middle schools in the Southeast.

Professionally, one of my passions is to help students become the best versions of themselves they can be, academically, athletically, socially, and everything in between. I believe that the local school provides opportunities for students to explore their options and try new things with the strong support of the community. Each role in our community, student, parent, teacher, staff member, brings a unique perspective and strengths to our school and, by working together, we can create a supportive environment where our students can excel.

In the coming school year, I look forward to immersing myself in our community and leveraging each of our strengths to make Topsail Middle school one of the premier middle schools, not just in Pender County, but also in Southeastern North Carolina.

Our students are involved in many activities outside of school which makes their time very valuable. With that in mind, I want to make sure that we are leveraging the time we have at school to maximize our teaching and learning opportunities so that every student has every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and passions for learning.

If you have any questions or want to stop by to say hello, please feel free to reach out and we can schedule some time to talk.

I am extremely excited to be joining the Topsail Middle school family and am looking forward to the great things we are going to be able to accomplish together.

Dr. Alan (Mac) McNaughton