Carty, Kannapolis City Schools director of student services, replaces Bob Shinn, who retired in June. A former school counselor, Carty said that element attracted her to the new post.

“It’s still interaction with kids and adults, but it’s more a counseling job than what I was doing,”she said. “That seemed to be a pretty natural fit for me.”

Her plans this year include starting a monthly meeting of school counselors. The counselors will share in staff development programs and work together as a team, she said.

Aside from overseeing school counseling and social work, Carty’s responsibilities include dropout prevention, acting as a liaison between the central office and parents who have complaints and conducting hearings on long-term suspension.

She’s also a member of a group working to provide better care for children with attention deficit disorder.

For the past three years, she has been principal of A.L. Brown and was named the system’s Principal of the Year in 1999. A.L. Brown was named an exemplary school in the state’s ABCs of Education program in 1998 and 1999. It met the state’s academic goals last year. The school has also maintained a good safety record and a low dropout rate.

Before becoming principal at Brown, Carty was assistant principal of Kannapolis Middle School. She also has a counseling background and worked as a teacher and assistant principal in 27 years in education.