South Park Elementary principal Julia Hood retires

VICKSBURG, Miss.(VDN) — Julia Hood, longtime educator and administrator, has officially retired from the Vicksburg-Warren School District after many years of service.

Hood most recently served as principal of South Park Elementary School, where she completed her final school year in May. Her tenure in the district began in the classroom and steadily evolved into leadership roles, including assistant principal at Vicksburg High School before taking the helm at South Park.

A Vicksburg native, Hood began her path to leadership early as the first female ROTC Brigade Commander at Alcorn State University. She later served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. Following an honorable discharge, she redirected her focus to her lifelong passion—education.

Hood earned a Master of Education degree from Cabrini College and an Education Specialist degree in Leadership and Administration from Walden University. She returned to her hometown to begin her educational career as a first-grade teacher at Sherman Avenue Elementary. She was later named lead teacher at Warren Central Intermediate School, where her commitment to student achievement and staff development gained districtwide recognition.

Known for her drive to foster academic excellence and her unwavering dedication to student success, Hood was appointed assistant principal at Vicksburg High School before assuming her principalship at South Park.

Throughout her career in the Vicksburg-Warren School District, Hood was respected as a transformative leader and mentor.

As she enters her retirement, Julia Hood leaves behind a legacy of service, leadership and educational excellence in the community she has long called home.