Superintendent
Dr. Nyah Hamlett
superintendent@chccs.k12.nc.us
919-967-8211 x28226
Dr. Nyah D. Hamlett began as Superintendent for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) on January 1, 2021. Under Dr. Hamlett’s leadership, the district serves approximately 11,000 students and 2,000 employees in 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, an alternative school, and a school for young people being treated at UNC Hospital.
After leading CHCCS through the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hamlett is pleased that the district's on-time graduation rate in 2024 was 93.9%, including a new CHCCS record of 967 graduating seniors. Additionally, CHCCS achieved other student successes, including:
- The proportion of Black students who earned grade-level proficiency on the High School End-of-Course tests rose by 3 percentage points to a level higher than the pre-COVID value.
- District achievements included a 69.8% passing rate on all state exams, the highest in all of North Carolina.
- 14 (73.7%) CHCCS schools earned A or B grades, up from 66.7% in 2022-23.
- 14 CHCCS schools Exceeded or Met Growth expectations.
- In CHCCS, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students exceeded growth expectations at rates that surpassed their statewide peers.
The 2027 Strategic Plan under Dr. Hamlett's leadership calls for CHCCS to 'Think (and Act) Differently'. Dr. Hamlett believes that every student in CHCCS deserves a high-quality, affirming education and the support to develop to their fullest potential. As a result, Dr. Hamlett strives to model the district's core values of engagement, social justice action, collective efficacy, wellness and joy on a daily basis.
Before arriving in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Dr. Hamlett enjoyed a long and successful career in public education in Virginia. She previously served as chief of staff for Loudoun County Public Schools, serving as a key strategic advisor to the superintendent and other cabinet members. In her work with the Superintendent and School Board, Dr. Hamlett supported and coordinated the governance team approach to serving over 84,000 students and 12,000 employees. While there, Dr. Hamlett also played an important role in supervising the director of equity and leading the district’s equity efforts.
Prior to that, Dr. Hamlett spent twelve years with the Henrico County Public Schools at both the school and central office levels, ultimately working for five years as assistant superintendent for instructional support. In this position, she supervised a number of instructional and support programs, including exceptional education (special education and gifted education), family and community engagement, school improvement, professional learning, mental wellness and social-emotional learning. Under Dr. Hamlett’s leadership, HCPS won first place in the National School Boards Association’s 2017 Magna Awards for the district’s overhaul of the code of student conduct and its development of preventative behavioral support programs. Hamlett began her career as a special education teacher in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
Dr. Hamlett received her bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology and audiology with a minor in special education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She went on to earn two master’s degrees in K-12 reading and educational leadership from Regent University in Virginia Beach, and a doctorate in educational policy, planning, and leadership from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Dr. Hamlett also earned an urban superintendent certification from the AASA Howard University Urban Superintendents’ Academy.
Dr. Hamlett is a champion of high-quality, equitable and affirming learning experiences, Relational Leadership, Culturally Relevant & Responsive Pedagogy, School-Based Mental Health, Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline, Gifted Identification of Underrepresented Student Populations, and more.
She is a proponent of asking students what problems they want to solve versus what they want to “be” when they grow up … Deep Learning.
She also believes in asking students what happened to them versus what’s wrong with them … Restorative Practices.
Dr. Hamlett and her husband live in Chapel Hill, NC with their three school-aged children.
