Sunday's Internet Edition, May 11, 2008.
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“We’re proud of Dr. Barbara Armstrong for winning this award,” Thomasville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Daniel Cockman said of the state association’s Trailblazer Award that Armstrong received on March 14 at Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. “We’re thankful and grateful for the contributions that she makes to us.”
When asked to describe her feelings when she heard her name announced at the convention, Armstrong responded, “I was just humbled to learn that my peers thought what I do is something of excellence.”
Excellence is something Armstrong strives for — for herself and employees in the school system.
“At the end of every day, I reflect and ask myself what did I do well, what did I not do well and how can I fix what I did not do well,” she said.
Armstrong has been doing well virtually all of her life. The Clinton native graduated in 1980 from N.C. Central University, where she met Ellis Armstrong, her husband. She has earned two master’s degrees at N.C. A&T State University, the first in counseling in 1984, and the second in agency and school counseling in 1991. The well-educated educator of educators earned her doctorate in educational leadership at Nova Southeastern University in 2004.
“Dr. Armstrong has really made a contribution to our school system in the area of recruiting teachers and the area of professional development of our teachers,” Cockman said. “She is an excellent trainer.”
After working several years as a health educator in the Guilford County Health Department, Armstrong joined Thomasville City Schools in 1987. She began her career at TCS as a school counselor. Along the way, she has served as assistant principal of Thomasville High School, principal of Liberty Drive Elementary School and TCS staff supervisor. Armstrong took her present position, which includes that of training coordinator, in 1999. She enjoys seeing others in the school system continue their education and advance within the system.
“I’m very proud that we at Thomasville City Schools have been able to grow our own,” Armstrong said. “A lot of teacher assistants in our system have become teachers with us. We want to make sure that teachers have an opportunity to work on additional advanced degrees and earn additional certificates. I try to make sure that we have everything they need to get them to that point.”
Armstrong proudly pointed out that no less than 15 teachers in the TCS system will each receive a masters in curriculum and instruction in reading at UNC-Greensboro in May 2009.
“These are veteran teachers in our system who are committed to excellence,” Armstrong said. “They are already applying what they have been learning to their own classrooms.”
Armstrong also had kind words to say about her assistant, Edith Kindley.
“Edith is awesome,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been together so long that we can read each other. Whenever one of our employees needs something, we do what we can as a team to help them meet their needs.”
The Armstrongs live in Greensboro, where Ellis Armstrong works for Proctor & Gamble. They have four children and a grandson. While she does not live in the Chair City, Barbara Armstrong has developed an affection for Thomasville and enjoys promoting it to the teachers and other potential TCS employees she recruits.
“This system has a number of wonderful things to offer,” she said. “You don’t get lost in the cracks here. Thomasville citizens are loving and caring people. If we can teach that to our kids, coupled with the skills that we are teaching them, we can produce people who will contribute the economy and to the community.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230, or at reid@tvilletimes.com.