By Nancy Whitney
Staff Writer
Looking at the increasing population and preparing for the advancing curriculum, WISD district officials have separated the duties of the director of advanced academics into two positions.
Kerry Gain is the new director of secondary curriculum and Joei Shermer is the director of elementary curriculum. They fill the position previously held by Carrie Breedlove.
“Wylie has grown to the point where the curriculum focus needs to be specialized,” Gain said. “This new delineation of responsibilities will allow me to focus on the special curriculum and advanced academic needs of secondary students and teachers. It will also give me the opportunity to not only grow our programs but to bring some innovation in as well.”
Gain is an educator with 18 years experience, three of them in WISD. She was a high school teacher and held campus administrator positions at both elementary and secondary levels. Before coming to Wylie she was the program coordinator for State and Federal Initiatives in the Region 10 Education Service Center.
“I am very excited about this new, specialized role,” Gain said. “In the advanced academics realm, I hope to increase enrollment in Advanced Placement courses as well as increase the number of dual credit courses offered at our high schools.”
On the curriculum side, Gain says she has individual goals for each content area.
“An example of one of those is in science where I hope to expand on a pilot we ran this year that involved our AP Environmental Science students at Wylie High School, partnering with an elementary science class to share experiences and content.”
Gain holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from UT Arlington.
Gain, a Wylie resident since 2006, lives with her husband Chris and two children, Kendall, 4th-grade, and Connor, entering kindergarten.
Shermer has been with Wylie ISD 14 out of her 16 years. She has served as a classroom teacher, school counselor, assistant principal and campus principal.
“When you look at the educational needs of children, as well as the instructional techniques and tools for teachers, this delineation makes sense,” Shermer said. “This new design will allow us to better meet the needs of elementary campuses and secondary campuses as there will be a director focused on more specific curriculum and advanced academic needs.”
Shermer’s goal is to help all students find his or her own greatness, not just while they are in district schools, but for a lifetime.
“We are on the path to greatness in Wylie ISD,” Shermer said. “I am looking forward to being a part of the curriculum and instruction team and working with my principal friends and teachers across the district.”
Shermer holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from MidAmerica Nazarene University, and two master’s degrees: one in school counseling and the other in educational leadership.
Shermer and her husband Matt, Wylie residents since 2001, have 8 year-old twins.
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