Former Gaston teacher to lead state education division

Feb. 24-- Feb. 24--A former Gaston County Schools educator is now leading a division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

State Superintendent Mark Johnson has named Sherry Thomas director of the Division of Exceptional Children, which oversees the education of students with cognitive disabilities. She has been serving as acting director of the division since the recent retirement of Bill Hussey, and has been assistant director since 2013.

In her new role, Thomas' first priority is to continue to provide support to school districts across the state.

"It is extremely important to me that as a division, we are transparent and communication is clear and timely," she said. "I will continue working toward the rollout of our new statewide data system that is highly functional and efficient, across all local education agencies."

She named the need to recruit and retain special educators and related service providers as another priority.

"Finally, I hope to continue to see alignment between instruction and student achievement. The graduation rate for students with disabilities has shown promising growth, but we still have work to do to close the gap with all students," she said.

Before joining NCDPI in 2007, Thomas previously worked in exceptional children roles at UNC Charlotte and Gaston County Schools.

She began working for Gaston County Schools in 1979 as a substitute teacher and then as an exceptional children teacher at Woodhill Elementary, then Sherwood and Brookside elementaries. She also worked as a diagnostician and program specialist with the Department for Exceptional Children during her 21-year tenure working at Gaston County Schools.

She grew up in Vale and graduated from West Lincoln High School, where she met a person with severe disabilities and the experience changed her life.

"When I was a senior in high school I met a young man and was overwhelmed with his consistent smile and expression of pure joy just being around other people," said Thomas. "It became clear that working with this population was what I needed to do."

Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in special education from the former Sacred Heart College in Belmont and a master of education degree in special education from UNC Charlotte.

In 2018, Thomas won the Felix Barker Award for her outstanding leadership in the field of special education. The honor is awarded annually by the North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and students who are gifted.

Johnson also announced the addition of three other leadership positions within the NCDPI last week.

Jonathan Sink was named general counsel for Superintendent Johnson. The Charlotte native has been serving as deputy chief of staff for N.C. Speaker of the House Tim Moore since 2017.

Beverly Emory will become the director of the District Regional Support division. Emory is currently the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

Mary M. Hemphill will become the state's first director of Computer Science and Technology Education, a new position created as part of the state's Computer Science Plan championed by Johnson and the General Assembly to emphasize the importance of coding and computer careers. She is currently principal of Carver Middle School in Scotland County

"We continue to build a great team, and whether talent comes from promoting existing DPI staff, from school districts or from elsewhere, I am excited to be working with top talent to bring needed innovations to reality for the 1.5 million students in North Carolina's public schools," Johnson said, in a media release.

You can reach Eric Wildstein at 704-869-1828 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteEric.

___

(c)2019 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

Visit Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C. at www.gastongazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.