Gaston County Schools names ‘Of the Year’ winners for 2024-2025

Truist serves as sponsor for Evening of Excellence awards ceremony

Gastonia, N.C. – Six employees received the most prestigious awards presented by Gaston County Schools during the 2024 Evening of Excellence ceremony on Thursday, May 2, at Stuart W. Cramer High School.  Truist sponsored the red carpet-themed awards presentation, which honored outstanding educators.
  
The ‘Of the Year’ winners, who were named during the ceremony, include:

• Teacher of the Year: Brandon Taylor, East Gaston High School;
• Principal of the Year: Chris Mills, Webb Street School;
• Assistant Principal of the Year: Courtney Williams, Webb Street School;
• New Teacher of the Year: Emma Cloninger, North Belmont Elementary School; 
• Teacher Assistant of the Year: Marianne Gibson, Springfield Elementary School; and
• Central Office Administrator of the Year: Kathleen D’Avria, director of high school instruction, Academic Services Department.

Below is biography information for each award recipient:

■ Teacher of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Teacher of the Year is Brandon Taylor from East Gaston High School.

After serving for one year as the interim band director at Shelby High School, Taylor joined Gaston County Schools in 2017 as the director of bands at East Gaston High School.  During his tenure, the East Gaston band program has experienced an increase in membership, seen renewed interest in a band booster organization, and won numerous awards, including grand champion and superior ratings, in marching and concert band competitions. 

Taylor, who was selected to serve as the clinician for the 2024 Gaston County Schools all-county honors band, is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University with a bachelor’s degree in music education/concentration in trumpet performance.  He will represent Gaston County Schools in the regional competition for the 2024-2025 N.C. Teacher of the Year award.

The finalists for Teacher of the Year included Jennifer Hallman, North Gaston High School; Melissa Harris, Bessemer City Primary School; Lisa Montgomery, North Belmont Elementary School; and Cara Shelton-Harper, Bessemer City Middle School.

■ Principal of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Principal of the Year is Chris Mills from Webb Street School.

Mills, who has more than 20 years of service to Gaston County Schools, began his career at Lingerfeldt Elementary School as a teacher for students with autism.  After 11 years as a teacher, he became the assistant principal at Woodhill Elementary School and later worked at the central office level as a behavior specialist and the director for alternative education.  He was appointed to serve as principal at Webb Street School in 2020.

Mills earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from Winthrop University and a master’s degree in education administration from Grand Canyon University.  He will represent Gaston County Schools in the regional competition for the 2024-2025 N.C. Principal of the Year award.

The finalists for Principal of the Year included Mitch Allen, Chapel Grove Elementary School; Lorinda Brusie, Kiser Elementary School; Bryan Denton, Hunter Huss High School; and Jessica Mellon, Bessemer City Middle School.

■ Assistant Principal of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Assistant Principal of the Year is Courtney Williams from Webb Street School.

Williams joined Gaston County Schools in 2003 as a resource teacher at North Belmont Elementary School.  Two years later, she became an exceptional children teacher at Webb Street School.  She was appointed the school’s assistant principal in 2017 after serving as the Webb Street Teacher of the Year the previous year.

Williams obtained a bachelor’s degree in special education from UNC-Charlotte and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Gardner-Webb University.

The finalists for Assistant Principal of the Year included Stephanie Denton, York Chester Middle School; Chris Dixon, East Gaston High School; Charlotte Friday, W.A. Bess Elementary School; and Tangela Hinton, Sherwood Elementary School.

■ New Teacher of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools New Teacher of the Year is Emma Cloninger of North Belmont Elementary School.  The 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.

A 2019 graduate of Stuart W. Cramer High School, Cloninger is in her first year as a teacher (fifth grade) at North Belmont Elementary School where she completed a clinical internship during the 2022-2023 school year.  She attended Gaston College and received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Gardner-Webb University.

Cloninger will represent Gaston County Schools in the 2024-2025 Beginning Teacher of the Year competition, which is sponsored by the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

The finalists for New Teacher of the Year included Erin Fletcher, Chapel Grove Elementary School; Anna Jessup, Cherryville Elementary School; Savannah Swanson, W.A. Bess Elementary School; and Sue-Ann Taylor-Folkes, Pleasant Ridge Elementary School.

■ Teacher Assistant of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Teacher Assistant of the Year is Marianne Gibson of Springfield Elementary School.

Gibson joined Gaston County Schools in 2017, working as a substitute teacher at Springfield and Kiser elementary schools in Stanley.  She became an instructional teacher assistant at Springfield the following year.  Outside of education, Gibson has 13 years of experience in customer service and retail store management.  She is a graduate of Hunter Huss High School and studied business at Gaston College and pre-nursing at Gardner-Webb University.

The finalists for Teacher Assistant of the Year included Linda Anderson, Bessemer City Primary School; Mckenzie Barkley, W.A. Bess Elementary School; Amy Giles, H.H. Beam Elementary School; and Robin Hensley, Bessemer City Primary School.

■ Central Office Administrator of the Year

The 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Central Office Administrator of the Year is Kathleen D’Avria, director of high school instruction, Academic Services Department.

D’Avria joined Gaston County Schools in 2002 as a history, civics and economics, and sociology teacher at Forestview High School.  In 2013, she moved to the central office as a social studies curriculum facilitator.  She served as the administrator for the Gaston Virtual Academy when it opened in 2017, and since 2020, she has served as the director of high school instruction.

A National Board Certified Teacher, D’Avria earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, and obtained a master’s degree in education (middle and secondary social studies) from UNC-Charlotte.  She is pursuing a doctorate degree in educational leadership at Gardner-Webb University.

The finalists for Central Office Administrator of the Year included Caroline Black, beginning teacher support coordinator, Human Resources Department; Melissa Buchanan, mentor support coordinator, Human Resources Department; Sean Corcoran, web communications coordinator, Communications Department; and Steve Smith, data integration specialist, Accountability Department.

■ More Information

The Evening of Excellence ceremony pays tribute to the school district’s most outstanding educators for their exceptional leadership and many contributions to the public school system in Gaston County.  The Gaston County Schools Communications Department and Human Resources Department organize the annual awards program and facilitate the ‘Of the Year’ selection process.  

Superintendent of Schools Morgen A. Houchard stated, “We would like 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.  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.”

New this year, the ceremony took on a red-carpet theme with the awards being presented in a fashion similar to awards shows seen on television.  A highlight was having previous winners joining last year’s winners on stage to reveal this year’s award recipients.  Miss North Carolina Taylor Loyd was a special guest, assisted with the awards presentation, and sang “This Is The Moment” from the musical, “Jekyll and Hyde,” to conclude the ceremony.  The Stuart W. Cramer High School chorus, directed by Bethany Jennings, opened the show with a special performance, and the Stuart W. Cramer High School jazz band, directed by Kameron Radford, performed during the VIP reception, which was held immediately before the ceremony for the award honorees and their guests.

In addition to Truist serving as the event sponsor, Courage Kia in Gastonia provided sponsorship as well, presenting a vehicle lease agreement for a new Kia Seltos to the 2024-2025 Gaston County Schools Teacher of the Year.  The Gaston County Education Foundation also served as a sponsorship partner, presenting $5,000 in funds to support professional development opportunities for the six “Of the Year” award winners and the Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year finalists.

Dr. Houchard added, “We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Truist for sponsoring this important employee recognition program again this year.  We also would like to thank Courage Kia and the Gaston County Education Foundation for partnering with us to provide additional sponsorship – Truist, Courage Kia, and the Education Foundation helped us make the Evening of Excellence extra special for the honorees.”

The Evening of Excellence ceremony was recorded, and it will air on Spectrum Channel 21, the Education Station for Gaston County Schools, the week of May 13-19 at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.  The video will air at other times this summer, and it will be available on the Gaston County Schools website and YouTube channel.