Just two weeks before Casey Thomas was set to graduate from Mississippi State with a degree in marketing, she changed her mind.
Her final project was the turning point. She walked into an elementary classroom to present her marketing plan for the school and walked out knowing she was meant to be in front of students rather than behind a desk.
“I just knew that I was meant to be in elementary education,” Thomas told The Dispatch.
So Thomas stayed at MSU another three semesters to finish a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Fifteen years later, she’s preparing to lead Annunciation Catholic School as its next principal beginning in October, stepping into a new role in the same place where her own education journey began.
Thomas’ connection to ACS runs deep. Her grandmother enrolled her dad in the school’s first class of first-graders. He went on to send Thomas and her sisters to the school, where her own sons now attend as third-generation students.
“I feel like my passion (for the school) began with my grandmother, who sent him to school here and worked really hard to make that happen,” she said. “And then I have two sisters, and my parents sent all three of us, and now I have seen two of my nephews here, and I have my three sons here, so it’s really special.”
Thomas taught for two years at Sudduth Elementary in Starkville before she landed her “dream job” teaching at ACS. A very “structured” teacher, Thomas approached teaching with the philosophy that students would rise to the standards set for them with the right help.
“Because I feel that if you have high expectations for your students that they’re going to go above and beyond to reach those expectations,” she said. “I feel like you open the door for a lot of growth within them.”
Thomas, who is currently the assistant principal and curriculum director at ACS, said her favorite part of classroom teaching was the relationships she built there with her students.
“That’s what I love about the position I’m in now, is I get to have relationships with not just the 25 kids in my class, but the 200 kids that are here,” she said.
Data-driven leadership
Thomas became assistant principal and curriculum director in 2022 after earning a master’s degree in educational leadership at MSU the year before. As curriculum director, Thomas said she analyzes data throughout the school year to ensure teachers have the support and information they need to provide the best instruction.
“We like to use data as a tool to lead instruction … and that has really allowed me to really find the areas where we excel, but also the areas that we have room to improve in,” she said. “It’s really been amazing to dig deep into that and provide our teachers with the strategies or the tools or the programs that they need to fill those gaps.”
That method has proved successful. Thomas said the K-8 school’s spring test scores came back higher than the national average for private catholic schools in each grade and subject. ACS also surpassed the other 18 schools in the Catholic Diocese of Jackson across each grade.
It’s a testament to the work of both teachers and students at ACS, she said.
“I feel like we give our teachers the standards to teach and the autonomy to teach how they see it, and that’s the result of that,” Thomas said. “We’re not teaching to a test every day, we’re teaching to our students – individualized instruction. We’ve reaped the benefits of that.”
Thomas hopes to continue those trends as principal in October, when Joni House will step down from the role to become the executive director for Catholic education for the Diocese of Jackson. House said Thomas is well prepared to continue driving the school’s success.
“Truly, she has a deep love for (ACS), and an unwavering commitment to advocate for every student,” House told The Dispatch. “Her vision and dedication to continue to guide all toward excellence (sets her apart).”
For Thomas, taking on the new role is both exciting and deeply meaningful. From watching the school change over the years to seeing her sons enjoy the same school traditions she did as a child, her career has come full circle.
“It’s incredibly special to walk the halls as a leader that I got to walk as a student and to go into the classrooms. I went into the first grade classroom the other day, and I was talking to the students, (saying) ‘This was my third grade classroom,’” Thomas said. “To be able to share that experience with them is unique, and I feel like it’s not something that a lot of people get to experience – seeing my children in the classrooms that I was in when I was pregnant with them.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
