Retired Atlanta principal returns to school as site manager

Atlanta — David White retired in September 2025 after 33 years in education, the last 15 as principal of Burgess-Peterson Academy, an elementary school in Atlanta. The Atlanta Public Schools district had named him Principal of the Year.

White, 58, said he left the job to escape daily demands. He soon found the extra time difficult.

"I thought it would be blissful and easy and joyful," White told CBS News. "It wasn't quite."

"I was just hanging out with the cat, and it was a little lonely," he said.

White missed the school community. He knew he could not return as principal because the district had hired a replacement. When a site-manager position opened, he applied at once.

"I said, 'Hmm, OK, that's interesting. Absolutely, apply,'" said Holly Brookins, the new principal, recalling White's message.

White's duties include power washing bathrooms, inspecting fire extinguishers and cleaning gutters. He said the lower rank does not trouble him.

"Yeah, I'm one of the bottom rungs, if you look at it in a hierarchical way," White said. "It doesn't bother me at all. I still feel like I'm contributing meaningfully to a place I really care about."