Gaston County Schools names principal, teacher of the year and other top achievers

At a red carpet themed event, six district leaders were recently honored by Gaston County Schools at the annual Evening of Excellence ceremony.

The event included performances from the Stuart W. Cramer High School chorus, Stuart W. Cramer High School’s jazz band, and a concluding performance of This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde the musical performed by Miss North Carolina, Taylor Loyd.

According to a press release from the district, this event is designed to recognize outstanding school officials in Gaston County, “who go above and beyond expectations to inspire success in our students.”

“We would like to congratulate everyone who was recognized during the Evening of Excellence ceremony. The program is designed to bring attention to the outstanding teachers, teacher assistants, administrators, and others in Gaston County Schools who go above and beyond expectations to inspire success in our students,” Gaston County Schools Superintendent Morgan Houchard said in the release. “We are especially proud of our award recipients and look forward to having them represent their colleagues during the next school year as our ‘Of the Year’ winners for 2024-2025.”

The six “of the year” honorees include:

Brandon Taylor - Teacher of the Year

Taylor became the director of bands at East Gaston High School in 2017, and in his position, he has increased interest in both the band program as a whole and a band booster program, and has led the school’s band to receive several awards.

Chris Mills - Principal of the Year

Mills has worked with Gaston County Schools for more than 20 years and has spent the last four years as principal of Webb Street School.

He will go on to represent Gaston County Schools at the 2024-25 regional competition for the title of North Carolina Principal of the Year.

Courtney Williams - Assistant Principal of the Year

Williams has worked with Gaston County Schools since 2003 and has worked as a resource teacher, an exceptional students teacher and most recently, the assistant principal at Webb Street School, a role she took on in 2017.

Emma Cloninger - New Teacher of the Year

The New Teacher of the Year award is presented in memory of Linda Israel Rader, “who was a trailblazer for teacher professional development in Gaston County and across the state and nation,” the release said.

Cloninger graduated from Staurt W. Cramer High School in 2019 and is currently a first-year teacher working with fifth graders at North Belmont Elementary School.

She will go on to represent Gaston County Schools at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2024-2025 Beginning Teacher of the Year competition.

Marianne Gibson - Teacher Assistant of the Year

Gibson began working with Gaston County Schools as a substitute teacher in 2017 and has since become an instructional teacher assistant at Springfield Elementary School.

Kathleen D’Avria - Central Office Administrator of the Year

D’Avria began her work with Gaston County Schools in 2002 as a teacher at Forestview High School.

After serving in various curriculum facilitating and administrating roles over the years, D’Avria moved into her role as the director of high school instruction in 2020.

Where to watch

The Evening of Excellence ceremony will air on Spectrum Channel 21 from May 13-19 at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

The video will also be available on the Gaston County Schools website and YouTube channel.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County Schools names principal, teacher of the year and other top achievers