Central High School welcomes Sara Thomas, the new 12th-grade counselor. She is very excited to be counseling at Central. She has been in the education field since 2009. Other than her nine years of experience as a counselor, it is her first year of counseling for Central. Thomas is a very kind-hearted and adventurous person who loves to travel. In the future, she plans on traveling to more countries/states in the nearer future. Some activities that Thomas enjoys doing include reading, writing, working in her garden, cooking, hanging out, and playing board games with her fiance and their friends.

Thomas studied at Tennessee Tech to get her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After she got her Bachelor’s degree, she continued to receive her Master’s in Reading and Curriculum Instruction. Before becoming a counselor she had taught at Maple Grove Elementary in Allons, TN for 3 years from kindergarten to 4th grade. Something interesting to note is that, before its closing in 2014, Maple Grove Elementary was considered to be the smallest public elementary school in the state of Tennessee at the time that she was teaching.  Thomas then moved on to teach at Avery Trace Middle school in Cookeville, TN for 1 year as a 5th grade English teacher. She then started to gain experience in counseling when she became the counselor for Avery Trace Middle school. She continued to stay there as the school’s counselor for 9 years.

Ms.Thomas had always loved her position as a generic teacher, but she always felt as if there was something missing. She always wanted to focus more on social and emotional aspects, but while in a school setting. To start that transition she started working on getting her ED.S in School Counseling.

Ms.Thomas hopes she can get to know her seniors more, be a support system for them, and help ensure all of them graduate on time, while also celebrating and enjoying their final year of high school. She is also very excited about the transition from middle school to high school in hopes it will give her better skill sets. She believes she can be a person who students can not only ask for help but also be considered as an ally.

“Everyone has a story if you listen closely enough,” stated Thomas

Thomas is a very strong addition to the Central High staff. Thomas hopes to continue working at Central for years to come. She also hopes she can pursue more educational training to sharpen her counseling skills. As the years go by, Thomas will truly see what it means to become a Central Pounder!