Ms. Lawson is excited to join Costner Elementary School for her third year as an Assistant Principal in Gaston County Schools. She graduated from Western Carolina University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education. In 2017, she was selected for Winthrop University’s “Leaders for Tomorrow” program and graduated in 2019 with a Master of Education in Educational Leadership. Ms. Lawson is a native of Southwest Virginia. She spent the first five years of her career teaching middle and high school band in both North Carolina and Virginia. She also taught PreK through 8th grade music in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools for seven years. Ms. Lawson is a National Board Certified Teacher, and in 2020 she was named the North Carolina Music Educator of the Year.