CCS Families in the Know For You April 30, 2023

CCS Families In the Know

Board of Education Approves New Principal for New Bern High

New Bern, NC- At the Board of Education Special Called Meeting held on Monday, April 24, 2023, the Board of Education unanimously approved the recommendation of Dr. Darryl Thomas Jr. as the new principal of New Bern High School effective July 1, 2023.

For almost 20 years, Dr. Darryl Thomas, Jr. has enjoyed a successful career in public education. He started his educational journey as a teacher in 2004 with Pitt County Schools, spending seven years as a Business Education teacher. As a teacher he provided students with relevant and rigorous learning opportunities, serving on leadership teams, creating school-wide initiatives that addressed student needs by creating clubs to build positive relationships and creating at-risk student organizations. These experiences, he believes, prepared him to start his school leadership journey.

Dr. Thomas's previous administrative experience included being an assistant principal at Washington High School, South Central High School, and J.H. Rose High School. For the past seven years, he served as a principal. He led E.B. Aycock Middle School for five years and is currently the principal of J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, NC. A position he has been in for the past two years.

Dr. Thomas's foundational years in education were all in Craven County Schools. He attended Trent Park, Oaks Road, F.R. Danyus (5th Grade), H.J. MacDonald, and Grover C. Fields before attending and graduating from New Bern High School in 1998. Dr. Thomas's academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology, a Master's degree in Educational Administration, and a Doctorate of Education, all earned from East Carolina University.

Dr. Thomas is humbled and honored to return to his alma mater, New Bern High School, as its new principal. He counts this as an opportunity of a lifetime and looks forward to getting started right away. "I am excited to be returning to New Bern High School, where I once walked the halls as a student, but now as its new leader to continue the excellent strides the previous school leadership established in preparing students to be college and career ready,” said Dr. Thomas. “I truly believe that by partnering with families, the community, and staff at New Bern High School, we will continue to grow, build positive stakeholder relationships, implement innovative instructional supports, create integral structural systems, and continue equity-based initiatives."

Please help us welcome Dr. Thomas back to his alma mater and to the New Bern Community.

NAFEPA Recognizes State Leadership Recipients

The National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (NAFEPA) recently recognized Mr. Jason Griffin for his outstanding work in Federal Programs and received the 2023 Federal Programs Leadership award for the state of North Carolina at a ceremony in Washington, DC on March 28, 2023.

Mr. Griffin is the Director of Elementary Education and Federal Programs for Craven County schools and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Association of Federal Programs and has been in this position for five years.

The NAFEPA awards committee said that “Jason is instrumental in providing guidance to federal program directors in the southeast region of NC, across the state, and now at a national level. His creativity ensures that schools are supported in addressing student learning and staff growth.”

“It was truly an honor to receive the state leadership award for North Carolina, Griffin said. I love having a position that can serve the needs of our faculty and students and my goal is to remove as many barriers as I can to ensure that everyone’s academic journey is successful!”

Please join us in congratulating Mr. Griffin for all his hard work and dedication to Federal Programs.