Kathy Norris, who is retiring after 30 years of teaching, was honored at a faculty meeting in the cafeteria today.
Mr. Imerson presented her with a flower arrangement, the traditional Gulf High School clock, and other gifts. He praised her long teaching career, and the faculty gave her a standing ovation.
She expected tomorrow to be her last day in the classroom, but teachers and students learned after going home that there would be no school in Pasco County on Friday because of hurricane Frances.
Ms. Norris began teaching in September 1974 at Gulf High School, which was then located on Louisiana Avenue. Three years later, she joined the faculty of Gulf Junior High School, where she taught for six years. She then rejoined the faculty of Gulf High School, where she taught for an additional 21 years.
She served as Gulf High School’s first Senior Project Coordinator, from 1998 to 2003. Ms. Norris served on the district Senior Project Committee and has been a presenter at national Senior Project conferences in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. During her retirement she will be employed as a consultant to Serve, Inc., which provides training to teachers and administrators at schools which adopt Senior Project.
Ms. Norris, who was born in New York City, received her A. A. degree in Liberal Arts from Nassau Community College (N.Y.), her B. A. degree in English from the State University of N.Y. at Potsdam, and her M.S. in Managerial Leadership from National Louis University (Tampa).
