Meet Wake County’s newest school board member. She wants to be a champion for students
A former teacher has been picked to become the newest member of the Wake County school board.
On Tuesday, the board chose Christina Gordon to fill the District 2 seat that covers much of Garner and Fuquay-Varina and part of Southeast Raleigh. Gordon will replace Monika Johnson-Hostler, who resigned after being elected to the General Assembly.
Gordon was picked after seven rounds of voting that narrowed the field of six candidates. Several board members cited Gordon’s passion for wanting the position.
“She brings a very unique perspective of understanding what our teachers’ needs are directly and how that translates through the community as well as the district,” school board member Toshiba Rice said.
Be a ‘champion’ for students
Gordon is a parent of three Wake students and a former district teacher. She currently develops training programs for teachers as a professional learning specialist for the N.C. Association of Educators.
Gordon is a product of the Wake County school system who grew up in Southeast Raleigh. In addition to being an educator, she’s been a longtime PTA member who served as a school PTA president.
In her application, Gordon listed three priorities: building inclusive and affirming school communities, strengthening family and community partnerships and creating empower learning labs.
“I believe every student no matter their zip code, no matter their background, they are afforded the opportunity to have a champion in everybody on the school board,” Gordon said during her interview. “I am willing and ready to the work of being that champion.”
Gordon is scheduled to be sworn in on Feb. 4. She will finish Johnson-Hostler’s term, which expires in December 2026.
Other Wake school board applicants
The board interviewed six of the eight applicants on Tuesday.
The other applicants were:
▪ Alexandra Alcantara is the CEO and co-founder of a design agency. Alcantara’s priorities include expanding school-to-workforce programs to create pathways for high school students entering the workforce.
▪ Caroletta Daniels is a former Wake teacher and administrator who specialized in working with special-education students. Daniels’ priorities include increasing graduation rates by creating positive school climates.
▪ Delon Fletcher is program director of the Agarwal Scholarship Program. Fletcher’s priorities include expansion of truancy prevention interventions to reduce chronic student absenteeism.
▪ Kara Gensor is a former Wake teacher who is currently an instructional designer and learning management system administrator for the state court system. Gensor’s priorities include increasing student attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism. Gensor withdrew her application.
▪ Brady Kocher is a former Wake principal who is currently state success manager for the LETRS program that is training the state’s elementary school teachers in teaching the science of reading. Kocher’s priorities include strengthening early literacy instruction in Wake.
▪ Joshua McGee is deputy director of community engagement for NC Child. McGee’s priorities include increasing parent, family and community partnerships. The board didn’t interview McGee because he didn’t include the required recommendation letters.
▪ Thaddeus Sherman is a former Wake principal who is currently a director of school leader development for TNTP, an education non-profit group. Sherman’s priorities include a review of grading practices and policies that are creating inequitable experiences for students.
Multiple rounds of voting to pick winner
Gordon was in the lead throughout the voting.
“There are no bad choices on this list,” school board member Lindsay Mahaffey said.
In the first round, Gordon had three votes. Daniels got two votes. Fletcher, Kocher and Sherman all got a vote.
The second and third rounds were identical with Gordon having four votes. Daniels had two votes. Kocher and Sherman each got a vote.
The fourth and fifth rounds were identical with Gordon still having four votes. Daniels and Kocher each got two votes.
In the sixth round, Gordon had four votes. Daniels had three votes and Kocher had one vote.
In the seventh round, Gordon got six votes. Daniels got two votes.
“It’s very tough that we have to advocate for one Wake County Public School former staff member over another because they are all great,” board member Sam Hershey said.
Gordon was supported by Lynn Edmonds, board chair Chris Heagarty, Hershey, Mahaffey, Rice and vice chair Tyler Swanson.
Daniels got votes from board members Cheryl Caulfield and Wing Ng. They had initially backed the two former principals who had applied.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Meet Wake County’s newest school board member. She wants to be a champion for students."
