This month, we are welcoming your new assistant principal for Thomas Academy, Donna Moody. Whether it’s counseling a child on her behavior after fighting with another student or helping high school students learn how to count money and catch up in their math skills so they can graduate, Donna has become a calm, trusted voice on campus since she started work with Thomas Academy and Boys & Girls Homes in 2020.
“I’ve been in education for a very long time, and all of my jobs have been centered around children,” she said. Currently, she’s juggling elementary classroom teaching duties in grades 3-5 as well as the assistant principal role until an elementary school teacher can be hired soon.
“We are pleased to welcome Donna Moody to the position of Thomas Academy’s Assistant Principal. I so look forward to this partnership as we take Thomas Academy to its highest level of education for our boys and girls,” said Dr. Cathy Gantz, Thomas Academy’s principal. “Ms. Moody has been an asset as an elementary and middle school teacher at TA, and now she will bring her expertise as an administrator. Congratulations and best wishes to her!”
Donna taught for 15 years at Whiteville Primary School in many different roles including kindergarten and as an ESL assistant teacher. At Thomas Academy, she was an ESL teacher and then taught Language Arts before teaching on the high school side. Education runs in her family as her father retired from Whiteville City Schools, and her sister teaches in Bladen County. Donna also worked in Residential for a while, so she knows many of the children from their early days on campus.
“Seeing the children from school and from campus, I’ve been able to have both lenses, and I was able to build that foundation with the students. Everyone knows if you come to Mrs. Moody’s classroom, I make it set, and it will be peaceful. There might be jazz music,” she said. “Last year, journaling was big for me. I had a lot of students open up to me. They know they can tell me any and everything. . . They already have that level of respect with me. I treat all the students like they are my own, and they can feel and know that.”
Among Donna’s goals are an effort to unify the teachers and administrators “because if we’re not good, then that feeling will be dispersed throughout the school. We want to let the teachers know they’re supported and appreciated.”
She also wants to see consistently rising student achievement.
“We may serve students who are behind because of things that happened in their life, but if we see progress, we have to celebrate those victories until we can get to that ultimate goal,” she said. “I would love every student to pass.”
