Nicole Priestly, Ph.D.                                                                          Central Elementary Zone

Nicole Priestly brings extensive experience and an open mind to her role as executive director of the Central Elementary Zone at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

“I have always focused on developing strong literacy and communications skills for students,” she said. “Reading well is the key to a strong start in school.”

Priestly joined CMS in 2011 after working in education at all levels. She has taught education at the college level while working in public schools as a teacher, reading specialist, principal and administrator.

Priestly began her career as a teacher assistant in a Head Start program in Greenville, SC. She taught fifth grade in Columbia, SC, for two years, then moved to Alachua County (Gainesville), Florida where she taught fourth and fifth grades. She worked as a reading specialist in Fulton County, Georgia, and Montgomery County, Maryland, before becoming an assistant principal and then principal at elementary schools in Maryland. She has also taught education courses in reading and children’s literature at the college level in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

A native of Greenville, SC, Priestly holds a bachelor of arts in international relations with a minor in English and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of South Carolina. She holds a specialist degree in reading from the University of Florida and a doctorate in education from the University of Maryland at College Park.

TBD                                                                                                       Central Secondary Zone

Maria Petrea                                                                                                                East Zone

Fluency in multiple languages has been part of life since childhood for Maria B. Petrea, the executive director of the East Zone in CMS. 

She joined the East Zone in this role after 13 years as the principal of Collinswood Language Academy. Under her leadership, the school received state and national recognition as one of the premier foreign language immersion programs in the United States. Collinswood also became the only school in North Carolina accredited by Spain’s Spanish Ministry of Education.  

Global competitiveness begins with being able to understand cultural differences and being able to communicate across the language barrier,” Petrea says. “I hope that, in the future, our nation will join the European network and promote the learning of academics beyond our native language.  In such a way, our nation could make strides in building economic unity. I have a firm belief in the potential of all students regardless of their ethnicity.  I further believe we need to guide and lead our teachers toward effectiveness in teaching, motivating and inspiring our students to be successful.”

Petrea began her administrative career in 1984 as a district observer-evaluator in the CMS Career Development Program.  From 1986 to 1997, she served as an assistant principal at various CMS schools, including Greenway Park Elementary. 

She was born in Greenville, S.C. Her childhood was spent in Central America, the United States and Europe, and her first language is Spanish.

Petrea holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign language with a concentration in Spanish. She has a master’s degree in special education with a concentration in learning disabilities and an educational specialist degree in curriculum and instruction, all from Appalachian State University. She completed her principal certification at UNC-Charlotte.

She received the national 2000 Milken Educator Award for her work in the development of a nationally recognized, dual-language elementary magnet program.  

 Nancy Bartles (Interim)                                                                                     Northeast Zone

Kathy Elling                                                                                                        Southwest Zone

Kathy Elling’s background includes extensive experience in education, conflict resolution and psychology – and she uses all three in her role as executive director of the Southwest Zone in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

“Education depends on the successful navigation of so many obstacles for every child,” Elling says. “For some children, kindergarten to grade 12 can be a seamless process, and for others, you have to move things out of the way. We want every child to learn, no matter what the obstacles are.”

Elling began her career as a district and school psychologist in New York state, working in Pulaski, Northport and Bayside before joining CMS as a student-services specialist in 1990.  She also worked as a conflict-resolution trainer for a private firm in Charlotte while in CMS. In 1988, she became an assistant principal at David Cox Elementary and in 2002 was named principal there. She moved to Croft Community School as principal in 2008.

Elling holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in science and a certificate of advanced study in school psychology from the State University College at Oswego (New York). She earned her principal certification from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.