Eight candidates on School Board ballot

Eight candidates are on the Yadkin County primary ballot for four open seats on the Yadkin County Board of Education. The race is non-partisan and those elected will take office this summer ahead of the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

All eight candidates participated in a candidate forum held by the Yadkin Chamber of Commerce.

The candidates have also participated in a Q&A for The Yadkin Ripple. Each candidate was sent the same questions and their responses are published below as originally submitted. Candidate responses are listed in no particular order.

Candidate bio: Sharon M. Yale

I have been married to Scott Yale (FHS ‘85) for 29 yrs. and we have two adult children, Savannah Yale Wallace (FHS ’15) and Jordan Yale (FHS ’17). I am a first-generation college graduate, having received my Bachelor of Science degree from Western Carolina University in 1994. I attend Peace Haven Baptist Church where I enjoy working in the music and children’s ministry. My 24-year career in the pharmaceutical industry has allowed me the opportunity to lead successful teams and support patient care.

Q. What experiences make you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. During my 8-year tenure on the Board of Education, I have gained valuable experience and training equipping me to be an effective, contributing member. I fully understand what the role of a member is (defined in General Statue 115-C) and just as important, what the role is not. I have established and maintain an authentic and trusted relationship with stakeholders (Fellow School Board Members, Parents, Employees, County Commissioners and State Legislators) to foster a collaborative environment. It has been paramount to personally establish these relationships, to advocate for the needs of our students & staff. Leading during the Global Pandemic, the aftermath of a tornado that destroyed the gym at Courtney Elementary, as well as being a voice for the West Yadkin Community during the mine proposal brought great growth as a board member. Visiting schools during the school day to attend presentations by administrators/students and visiting classrooms, regularly has allowed me to know each community school, individually. Attending employee advisory meetings have enabled open and honest dialogue with all departments to better understand their challenges & successes. Participating in Parent Advisory meetings have been very important to aid in understanding areas where the district can improve and what is top of mind. Making time to attend various events across the district, to support our schools and students, afford me the chance to engage with community members as well.

Leadership Experience/ Roles Outside the Board of Education: New Hope Pregnancy Care Center, Yadkinville, NC — Former Board Member and Chair of the Board. My responsibilities: Fundraising, Budget Oversight, Personnel, Community Liaison and serving as a Community Educator in Yadkin County and Wilkes County Schools. Yadkin County Education Foundation — Inaugural Advisory Board Member. As a board member and donor, I am thrilled to work with the foundation to help fund & support the needs of Yadkin County teachers, while promoting innovative classroom projects and instruction.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their role?

A. Our teachers carry a tremendous responsibility into the classroom every single day. In fact, I believe it is a calling. It has been my experience in working with educators, as a parent and board member, that they are best supported when parents/students foster a partnership with teachers and are actively involved in their education journey. Teachers are also supported when provided with strong, engaging leaders who support staff in reaching instructional goals, while identifying opportunities for future professional growth. We must also continue to build a culture within Yadkin County Schools that values our people, equitable support and opportunities across the district.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. The beautiful thing about public education is that we welcome ALL students, from every walk of life and background, without regard to wealth, ability or inability. As a result, I often hear concerns from teachers and parents regarding the many needs of our students across all student populations in the district. When budget cuts are always looming, the issue facing students is how will opportunities/resources be assured for all populations (Gifted, CTE, EC, Arts, ESL etc.) within our district? If re-elected, I will continue to work and pursue the focus of equitable sourcing across all student populations and seek/support opportunities that bring additional partnerships to our district.

Candidate bio: Cody Spicer

I am Cody Spicer, a proud resident of Hamptonville, NC, born on July 31, 1989. My journey through life is shaped by my dedication to faith, family, education, and community engagement.

My family and faith are my source of joy and inspiration. I am blessed to share my life with my wife, Hannah, and our wonderful son, Troy. They are the driving force behind my aspirations and endeavors, motivating me to work towards creating a better future for them and our community.

The school (s) you’ve attended/highest level of education completed: I attended West Yadkin Elementary (K-8) before graduating from Starmount High School in 2008. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics — Secondary Education from Appalachian State University, and a Masters in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education from NC State University.

Occupation: I have taught math for ten years at the high school level, obtaining my National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certificate a few years ago.

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. I believe being a classroom teacher in NC with the current environment of our schools is an essential characteristic that could be useful for our school board. I completed the master’s program and national board certification process in half the time most individuals would take while having a full workload. My work ethic speaks for itself. Apart from my career accomplishments, I must also refer to some personal experiences while growing up in Yadkin County. My tireless work ethic began early in life. I grew up working on a chicken farm every summer for ten years throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Following that, I worked at Unifi during the summers, spring breaks, and Christmas breaks while in college. I must also mention some moments in life that built the foundation on which I stand. My salvation occurred at one of those chicken houses in July of 2000. The loss of my dad in my junior year at Starmount in 2007. Marrying my wife in 2017 and the birth of our son in 2020. Life, loss, and love have given me the experience and characteristics to serve the great people of Yadkin County and its future generations.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

Support and resources: A. We must support our teachers by backing their decisions in the classroom and respecting their professional decisions to do what is in the best interests of our kids. Then, recognize when they have accomplishments that exceed expectations. Finally, as the local board, we must fight to ensure our teachers are rewarded for their challenging and heroic work efforts. Give them the tools and resources to teach, then step aside so they can accomplish the job. Teaching is an art form, and every teacher has strengths and weaknesses. We must help them develop the areas where they may struggle and sharpen their skill set in their areas of strength. We also need to provide our teachers with updated technology and facilities.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. One issue facing students is the accessibility to quality education. If elected, I will work to address this by advocating for policies that prioritize equitable distribution of resources, including funding, technology, and qualified teachers, across all schools. This might involve implementing programs to provide additional support for certain schools, ensuring access to quality educational materials and technology, and promoting professional development opportunities for teachers.

Additionally, mental health and well-being are increasingly recognized as critical factors in students’ academic success. I would advocate for the implementation of comprehensive mental health support services in schools, including counseling programs, access to mental health professionals, and initiatives to reduce stigma surrounding mental health issues. YCS already has such programs; however, we can always work to ensure that all of our students can receive help when they are in need. Creating a supportive and nurturing school environment can greatly benefit students’ overall well-being and academic achievement.

Ultimately, my goal would be to work collaboratively with stakeholders to identify and address the most pressing issues facing students, ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality education and the support they need to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Candidate bio: Barry Cole

Barry is a native of this area of North Carolina. While he has lived and worked throughout the US and has led global organizations, this is his home. Barry is married to Ann Cole, a retired teacher, department chair, testing coordinator, and adjunct instructor with 35 years in the classroom. He has two adult sons who graduated from NC public schools.

School(s) you’ve attended/highest level of education completed: Academic Preparation: Undergraduate, Graduate, Doctoral studies in Political Economics and Finance completed as a full-time working student. Credits through USN, DEC, ACE, and Regents of UNY non-traditional student Programs. His non-traditional degree coursework included credits from UNC-Pembroke, Liberty University, Regents College, UNC-G, CCU, and UC-D. Earned 64 Recent AIFA CEUs in Financial Standards, Regulatory Compliance, Auditing, Program Management

Educator Experience: Wrote and taught professional development coursework in advanced analytics, best practice leadership, change management, Leading Practice Maturity Models, cyber-security, and risk management to professionals around the globe. Barry also wrote curricula to support a NC DPI grant. This material was used in 7 Forsyth County High Schools and taught students career hard and soft skills as well as personal finances. Guided corporate educational services divisions in multiple global organizations.

Occupation: Barry’s entire career since leaving the military has been in interim executive, advisory, and strategic change roles filling the role of a specialist in global, multi-organization performance improvement and turn-arounds. His focus has been the execution of “best-fit” improvements while identifying all potential risks and mitigating each. This career has spanned many sectors including technology, Big-Four Consulting, Big-Bank, and nonprofit. Today Barry uses this same competency as an executive mentor in the Small Business Administration’s SCORE program where he provides no-cost advisory to the founders of approximately 30 early-stage for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. All boards must function as a team. Effective teamwork means working as a group and valuing the contribution of every member of that team. Barry would bring to the Board significant experience serving on and advising for-profit and non-profit boards.

The duty of this board is not only to respond to immediate issues as they may arise… but every school board has the duty to look to needs and potential issues 18 months, 3 years, 5 years in the future. For this reason, a school board functions best with the widest possible set of experiences and insights possible from every member. This has proven to be Barry’s greatest value to boards on with he served.

Looking forward, there are two items the Board should devote increased attention to. These create problems in every organization and always add real cost: 1) Overlooking something important that no one thought about. 2) The cost of correcting a problem instead of controlling the risks that lead to the problem.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. In the best practices of leadership theory speak to reducing the unexpected. Barry, in his career of managing managers, set the expectation that every leader that they look for conditions where their staff might fail. His leadership understood that they were expected to remove or reduce the causes of employee failures. This can be accomplished through regular and planned local actions, procedural assessments, or by an end-to-end review of the system’s formal policies, this supports good teachers.

A team building good practice from the private sector could also be helpful — formalize a process to assess administrators on their individual success in developing and retaining their best teachers. This often includes anonymous 360-degree feedback.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. YCS operates with changing requirements that are presenting new challenges that the School Board must meet. These include a range of pressures from inflating costs touching all areas of school budgets. There are also the classroom stresses of adapting to the intake of students from many countries with widely differing preparation for their age and grade level. The students in Yadkin County Schools are not immune to pressures seen in larger systems and this must be addressed by the Board.

In this environment, the expression “all-hands-on-deck” describes what is needed. This should include aggressively engaging parents and employers. We should add to this more inclusive reporting, not only to measure our “current state”, but also to recognize any emerging risks to Yadkin County Schools.

Candidate bio: Sharon Abercrombie

My name is Sharon Abercrombie, and I live in the Forbush community. My family includes teachers, pastors, coaches, a Marine, truck driver, police officer, and employees of small businesses. I grew up in Iredell County and graduated from Statesville

Senior High School. Lenoir-Rhyne University, Gardner-Webb University, and UNC-Charlotte were the colleges I attended. The highest degrees I obtained were 2 separate Masters degrees: Masters of Education; and Masters in School

Administration/Leadership & Instruction. I am now retired after serving over 30 years in education. I served students and teachers at every grade level from preK to 12+. I worked as a teacher, curriculum facilitator, Assistant Principal, and Principal in both traditional and non-traditional schools in the following NC counties…Alexander, New Hanover, Guilford, Cabarrus, and Forsyth school systems.

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. Through my experiences as teacher, facilitator, and administrator, I bring knowledge and understanding of how those separate roles work independently, yet also how they support and enhance one another. It takes a team of people working together to make a system run well. I think my experiences qualify me to serve as a team member of the Yadkin County School Board.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. Our teachers deserve appreciation for all the roles they play each day. A simple “thank you” is a start. And we can listen to and encourage our professionals to let us know how what they need. We can also support our teachers by investing in opportunities for them to grow in their profession.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

Perhaps the biggest issue facing and affecting our students and schools is finding, hiring, and keeping high quality educators. Nationwide, there is a shortage, and competition is stiff. Yadkin County, like many small school systems, doesn’t have large dollars to entice educators. So we promote our beautiful county…good neighbors and supportive communities; a place to live and raise a family. Promoting ourselves isn’t new, it’s already being done by our school system, businesses, and community groups. And I would like to be part of promoting Yadkin County Schools as the gems they are.

Candidate bio: Doug McCraw

I am Douglas A. McCraw and I’m 58 years old, a retired Police Officer; retiring from the Winston-Salem Police Department. Over my career, I was assigned to Field Services Bureau, Investigative Services Bureau and retiring in the Special Operations Division; SWAT Team. Furthermore, I held Certifications from the North Carolina Law Enforcement Training and Standards Commission as a Basic and Specialized Instructor; teaching at various law enforcement agencies and Forsyth Technical Community College.

After retiring, I organized and own Douglas A McCraw Insurance Services, Inc.; where currently, I’m contracted with North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company in the Yadkinville office. In addition to the insurance business, I am a certified and licensed Private Investigator.

I attended and graduated from Western Carolina University with a BS in Criminal Justice, an AAS in Police Science from New River Community College and an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the State of North Carolina.

Over the past couple years; and still on occasion, I serve as substitute teacher at Forbush High School. A few years back, I was honored to coach Sertoma football in East Bend and recreation baseball and basketball in the Fall Creek Community. For the past 20 years, I’ve been actively involved in youth rodeo activities; serving on various Boards of Directors, as a judge, producer, stock contractor, Vice President of the Junior Southern Rodeo Association and President of the North Carolina High School Rodeo Association.

Cindy and I are originally from the Fancy Gap, Virginia area, however; we make our home in East Bend and we’ve lived in East Bend for 32 years. We have Yadkin River Ranch; where we raise and train American Quarter Horses for rodeo performance, Black Angus and Longhorn Cattle. I am a member of the North Carolina Cattleman’s Association, North Carolina Angus Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association and the American Quarter Horse Association. I have been a proud member of Old Town Masonic Lodge for 32 years.

Cindy is my wife of 34 years, she’s is the Mother to our two wonderful children, Will and Hayden. A Cancer survivor since 2016. She spent most of her professional career at Novant Health before transitioning to Atrium Health/Wake Forest University Baptist; where she currently manages the lab at the Clemmons facility. Cindy is a graduate from Virginia Tech with a BS in Animal Science and holds a Masters Degree in Health Administration.

Will; our son, graduated from Forbush High School in 2017, he’s 25 years old and currently in Vet School as a student at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Will finished his undergraduate work at University of Tennessee/Martin with a BS in Cellular Molecular Biology. He furthered his studies at University of Tennessee/Martin and finished his Masters in Business Administration; as the first and only student to complete the MBA program in a year while being a full-time athlete. Will was highly recruited by the University of Tennessee/Martin’s rodeo team; he earned his letter his first year and qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo all but his freshman year. Will plans on having a large animal veterinary practice in Yadkin County upon completing Vet school.

Hayden; our daughter is 17 years old, currently an 11th grader at Forbush High School. Hayden is very competitive, ambitious and goal driven. She excels academically, while playing volleyball, being a rodeo athlete; roping calves and barrel racing. Hayden works at Grandview Animal Hospital and interns at Yadkin Physical Therapy. She enjoys all animals, especially horses. Hayden has proven her ability, being a past Champion in calf roping, qualifying for the National High School Finals Rodeo. She enjoys her time in the kitchen, where she explores various menus and absolutely makes the best Key Lime Pie; North of Key West.

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. Being elected to the Yadkin County Board of Education would be an honor, and certainly an honor I won’t take lightly. Knowing the school board’s duty is to provide students with the opportunity to receive a sound basic education and to make all policy decisions with that objective in mind, including employment decisions, budget development, and other administrative actions. I know I am qualified to serve. I recognize my lack of experience in the public school system, however; I believe my experience in life, in family, in education, in career and in business far exceeds my lack of experience in the classroom.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. I believe Yadkin County teachers are best supported by the school board; by ensuring those teachers know they have a career path for advancement. In other words, any position within the Yadkin County Schools should first be filled with current faculty and/or resident(s) of Yadkin County, from the lowest position to the highest position; if the applicant meets the qualifications and is in fact qualified.

Once teachers, staff and faculty recognize their importance to the Yadkin County School System and their opportunity for career paths, I believe their longevity will increase and recruitment for future teachers will be enhanced. Teachers, faculty and staff could possibly get the wrong message when vacancies of upper management positions; the highest paying positions, are filled by applicants from outside Yadkin County and/or current staff that don’t reside in Yadkin County nor do their children attend Yadkin County Schools. Teachers, staff and faculty should have confidence in their positions and their future career path; especially when they’ve dedicated years to the success of Yadkin County students and Yadkin County Schools.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. The students at all Yadkin County Schools are faced with challenges and issues, some seen and some unseen. However; the schools in Yadkin County are outstanding! There’s always room to improve and overlooking that would be unjust.

Moreover, modern day “wokeness” is everywhere we look and has infected our government at all levels and society in general. As a member of the school board, I believe it’s paramount that we guarantee parents, staff and students that girls only in girls bathrooms and locker rooms; girls compete against girls; period, with no exceptions.

We know that some kids can struggle with identity, and allowing a policy that could possibly confuse kids further with identifying their gender and/or purpose would be a travesty in and of itself.

Furthermore, the fast paced advancement of technology and violent video games are available in handheld devices; and combating temptation is a high hurtle not only for kids/students but also parents, teachers and school administration. Students, at all levels and grades; seem to have an addiction to electronic handheld devices that house APPS like Tic Tok, Snap Chat and violent video games; which provides an avenue to unforeseen evil that can be impossible to monitor and police.

A Police presence is an absolute deterrence for bad behavior and properly staffing law enforcement at all Yadkin County Schools is a must; additionally, Police on campus provide an immediate response should an incident occur. Daily interaction with law enforcement more often than not; encourages appropriate behavior and builds lasting relationships and lifetime bonds between staff, students and law enforcement personnel. Subsequently, the relationships between parents; their children and teachers must be solidified in trust and therefore providing the safest and securest schools for all our students, staff, and faulty.

Candidate bio: Tommie Paul

Native of Yadkin County Jonesville, NC

Jonesville & Yadkinville Elementary Schools

Forbush & Starmount High Schools

2 sons both military Navy older retired, Army younger Sergeant Major

6 grandchildren

42 years in Education

Schools I Attended

1970 Starmount High School

1974 Western Carolina University BA

1979 Appalachian State University MA ElementaryK-6/Reading K-9

1996 NC Department of Education BA Middle School Language Arts

2002 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Early Adolescent

English/Language Arts

Occupation

Retired Educator 42 years

29 Years Gaston County

Classroom Teacher, Human Resource Department

2 Years NC Department of Public Instruction

Teacher Recruiter

3 Years Educational Facilitator

Beaufort Historical Society, NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores

8 Years Yadkin County Substitute Teacher, Volunteer

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. I have been in education for 42 years. First as a classroom teacher, Central Office as a Teacher Recruiter and Beginning and Veteran Teacher mentor. I have worked as an Educational Facilitator with museums, aquariums, Keystone Science Center in Colorado, McGraw-Hill/MacMillian Textbook Publishing Co, Lab-Aids Science Education Company, AdJunct Professor in the Education Department at Belmont Abbey College and Educational Consultant for NASA in curriculum writing for Mars Rovers. Now I am a Substitute Teacher and Volunteer with Yadkin County Schools. I know what it is like in the classroom, Central Office, and NC Department of Public Instruction, I have been there. These experiences prepared me for being a Yadkin County School Board Member. It is time for me to give back to Yadkin County Education. Yadkin County Schools gave me my education foundation. I want to assist in building the foundation for our present and future students.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. Teachers must be treated as Professionals. They earned a degree in their field of expertise. The lines of communication and relationships between all educational stakeholders must be kept open-students, parents, teachers, administrators, central office and community. I have been where teachers are, I know how heavy their load gets and is constantly changing with expectations and demands. Our teachers are the experts on the needs of their students. They test, grade, prepare and teach to evaluate students strengths and weaknesses. Yadkin County teachers know what they need in their classrooms to be effective. We must ask them, but more importantly listen when they tell us. When they come with questions and struggles, listen to what they say. Value their input. Grants are out there to assist in classroom funding if that is what a teacher needs. I have written and been awarded grants for educational projects. I am retired and can be in the schools not to check up, but to lend a hand. I can be a mentor to struggling teachers, I can teach classes, and I want to volunteer as an extra pair of eyes and feet on field trips. Yadkin County’s teacher attrition rate is higher than neighboring school systems. Let’s not lose our valuable assets to neighboring systems. I want to recruit teachers to come to our area and grow our own teachers through Teacher Cadet and Teaching Fellows programs. Teachers are the heart of our Educational System. We have great teachers in Yadkin County. I will be there to support, validate and appreciate them. Let’s make Yadkin County the county everyone wants to teach in.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. Students are the most important stakeholder in the Educational System. They must have all basic life needs met in order to learn- feel safe, not hungry, health issues addressed, cared about, and they must know they matter. Students face different challenges than students 10 years ago did. I believe the biggest issue facing students is that Education is not always at the top of the priority list. All Educational stakeholders must continue to place our students’ Education at the forefront. I will push to make sure courses in high school meet the needs of all students-College bound, CTE classes, Military, Teacher Education classes and School to Work classes through intern programs. Special Needs students also have a right to the best education possible. Our elementary and middle school students’ needs are constantly changing as they mature. New and individualized methods of teaching are continually being developed to meet the needs of these students. We need to teach all students to take ownership in their education. It is vital that they know they have a voice in that ownership, and that their unique capabilities are being addressed. The Yadkin County School System must prepare our students to reach their potential and become productive citizens. Together, as a community, we can make it happen.

Candidate bio: Kenny Gooden

My name is Kenny Gooden. I am married to Tina. We have two adult children, Hannah and Hunter and one grandson, Eli. We live in Yadkinville.

I graduated from North Iredell High School, Mitchell Community College and Fruitland Bible College.

I am the Senior Pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church and have served in that position for 34 years.

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. For 44 years I have worked with people in a leadership position. In that 44 years I have brought people together and led them in making vital decisions, building consensus and moving forward to grow and develop their faith.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. I believe we have great teachers in Yadkin County. They deserve our words of encouragement, our prayers, the opportunity to invest in the lives of our students and greater financial support.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. The biggest issue facing our school system faces many others, providing a quality education to our students and doing so in safe classrooms on safe campuses.

Candidate bio: Sarah Boles

Name: Sarah Gough Boles (Yadkinville)

Wife of Ryan Boles and mother of Teegan Boles, (third grade student at West Yadkin Elementary School)

Daughter of Woodie and Linda Gough (Lone Hickory)

School(s) you’ve attended/highest level of education completed:

High School : Forbush High School (2001)

Undergraduate: Appalachian State University-Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Promotions/Minor Psychology (2005)

Teaching Certificate: Department of Public Instruction- K-12 Health Specialist/Physical Education (2011)

Master’s Degree: Gardner-Webb University- Executive Leadership Studies (2023)

Doctoral Degree: Gardner-Webb University: Educational Leadership (expected completion 2026)

Occupation: Assistant Principal West Iredell Middle School, Iredell-Statesville Schools (September 2023-present)

Q. What experience(s) makes you qualified to serve as a member of the Yadkin County School Board?

A. After graduating from Appalachian State, I dedicated two years to serving as a foster care/adoptions social worker at the Yadkin County Department of Social Services. Witnessing firsthand the daily challenges faced by many children, this experience fueled my passion for making a positive impact.

Over the span of 16 years, I’ve contributed as a devoted teacher and coach, dedicating a decade to Starmount High School. During that time, I served as the assistant athletic director for seven years and held the position of head softball coach for ten years. In 2020, I took on the role of athletic director at Starmount High School, a position I held until July 2023.

In September 2023, I transitioned into my administrative career as an assistant principal with Iredell-Statesville Schools. Having completed my master’s degree in Executive Leadership Studies in 2023, I am currently in the early stages of pursuing my doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at Gardner-Webb University.

Q. How do you think Yadkin County teachers can best be supported in their roles?

A. Having served as an educator within the county, I possess a firsthand understanding of the challenges confronting our teachers. It is imperative for educators to feel supported, knowing that they have an advocate who has shared their experiences in the field. My commitment is to champion the cause of teachers and to be a vocal advocate on their behalf.

Recognizing the dedication teachers invest in school-related activities is crucial. As one example, our elementary teachers and administrators are currently going through LETRS training, and if you aren’t familiar with the grueling process, please take the time to talk to any preK-5th grade teacher. These individuals are devoting personal time to complete modules, journal entries, and assessments without receiving monetary compensation or additional academic degrees from this state-mandated initiative. This demanding two-year process is in addition to their full-time responsibilities, cutting into precious time with their own families. It is paramount that we communicate to teachers that their efforts are valued and worthwhile. One possible option to offer these teachers would be to work optional workdays from home. This would be a simple, yet timely incentive for overworked educators.

To further support our educators, there is a need to encourage them to pursue leadership roles within the county. Yadkin County is home to some of the finest teachers and staff in the state, and retaining their expertise is a priority. I have initiated conversations with current county commissioners, exploring topics such as monetary compensation for advanced degrees, even if progress may be gradual. Teachers and staff need to be celebrated often, and they must always know they are appreciated. A culture of encouragement is essential, particularly in these challenging times, and it is imperative that we provide the support our teachers NEED and DESERVE.

Q. What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you hope to address that if elected to the School Board?

A. In my formative years, my parents were responsible for operating the Yadkin County Group Home, catering to children referred from the juvenile court system. Fast forward 22 years to my initial role as a foster care/adoptions social worker, where I gained firsthand insight into the challenges faced by families and children within our communities. The prevalence of homelessness/hunger among children in our county is alarming.

Many students in our schools confront formidable challenges, with academic performance often taking a backseat to more pressing issues. It is evident that our children’s fundamental needs are not consistently addressed. While the backpack program is implemented in several of our schools, my church, Deep Creek Baptist, personally sponsors Courtney Elementary School. However, there is a critical need for the expansion of this program to encompass ALL educational institutions.

If elected to the school board, it will be my personal mission to ensure the universal implementation of the backpack program. No child should be left wondering where their next meal is coming from. Currently, every school has a school resource officer, as the priority in every school should always be safety. To comprehensively address the well-being of our students, it is imperative that each school is equipped with a full-time social worker and nurse. This approach will ensure that the physical, social, and emotional needs of our students are met, fostering a supportive and conducive learning environment.