Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Nyah Hamlett announced Tuesday she will be leaving the role and school district in the coming months.
Hamlett, who both penned and recorded a message to CHCCS families and staff shared Tuesday afternoon, said she will depart at the end of the academic year after more than four years as the district leader. Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland also announced Tuesday that Hamlett will be joining its district administration as the chief equity and development officer in its Division of Equity and Organizational Development.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, one that was ultimately driven by my unwavering commitment to prioritizing the well-being and success of my children and family,” Hamlett said. “Over the past four years, we’ve worked together to cultivate a safe, affirming and joyful learning environment that values the unique backgrounds and cultures that make our community so beautifully diverse. Throughout my tenure, I’ve strived to provide leadership by guiding our educators and leaders toward collective goals, fostering a culture of care and continuous improvement. The path we have charted together will continue to guide CHCCS toward a promising future.”
Having previously worked in Virginia school districts Virginia, Hamlett was selected in Nov. 2020 to follow Pamela Baldwin as CHCCS’ superintendent after Baldwin left that spring under scrutiny regarding financial transparency and mismanagement. With her hiring, both Hamlett and the district shared goals of improving racial equity and closing the opportunity gap well-documented within the district. Her earliest days also contended with navigating education during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the district eased back to in-person instruction with social distancing and masking for its schools and worked to address both the learning and mental impact of the height of the pandemic’s lockdown.
Since then, the district achieved a record-high on-time graduation rate of 94.8% in 2023 and led the state’s passing rates on exams. Hamlett’s administration also developed the latest strategic plan approved in June 2022, which focuses on improving social-emotional wellness for students, confidence and empowerment of CHCCS staff, engagement in community members, and instructional excellence. Her bus tour of all 20 district schools on the first week of classes became a popular tradition and her leadership earned national acclaim for reshaping the district’s equity framework. Recently, the district approved a transition to a consistent block schedule for instruction across its high schools and voters approved a $300 million school infrastructure bond that will aid CHCCS in replacing three aging elementary schools.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, chaired by George Griffin, expressed gratitude in the announcement for Hamlett’s dedication and service to the district’s staff, students and families.
“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude for Dr. Hamlett’s unwavering dedication and exceptional leadership these past four years,” said Griffin. “Her commitment to our students, staff and entire school community has left a lasting, positive impact. In particular, we note that her steadfastness, attention to detail and fearlessness for taking action have truly been a benefit to all students here in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.”
Hamlett’s time leading the district was not without some controversy. In addition to families who disagreed with the district’s approach during the pandemic, the superintendent also fell under fire in Jan. 2023 after an investigative report into Hamlett’s doctoral dissertation found 35 instances where “word-for-word” phrasing from sources was misidentified or unidentified. Although she admitted some parts could be rephrased and vowed to review the 164-page paper again, Hamlett stood by her work and William & Mary’s review process. Another incident later in the year made headlines when an East Chapel Hill High School student and his father accosted Hamlett during the school’s graduation in May, which led to the superintendent earning a court order to prevent the family from contacting her. In both instances, the district’s Board of Education members firmly stood behind Hamlett — supporting her leadership and denouncing “personal attacks” against any Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools staff.
Lately, Hamlett has had to navigate the district cutting 81 positions to staff after running its fund balance dry. Having warned about the possibility for two years of a budget shortfall, CHCCS reached that point over the summer after operating at a $5.5 million deficit in 2023-24 after using its reserves to cover raises for teachers, bus drivers and other staff retention. The result was the hiring freeze and cuts approved in August, which are estimated to save the district roughly $5 million in 2025-26.
The CHCCS Board of Education will conduct a national search for its next permanent superintendent in the coming months. Hamlett said in her message she is “wholeheartedly committed to supporting a seamless transition” during that time as her successor is hired. Her final day with the district is set to be Monday, June 30.
Featured photo via Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
What about the teachers and staff losing their jobs under her due to mismanagement of funds? Not only are cuts being made (through attrition) that were announced at the start of the school year, but even more positions will be cut to people who are not leaving the district. Again, those who interact with our children directly bare the brunt of others’ decisions while those in power go on without consequences, making $200k a year. Where is the outcry for educators who won’t have a job come June???