Kelly Dunbar has been elected Vice President of the North Carolina Social Studies Council. Last year she was elected to the board of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies (NCCSS) and continues to lead in her profession. Mrs. Dunbar is dedicated to the students of Owen High and involves them in active historical practices.
Kelly Dunbar presented a Local History Inquiry project with Owen Media Specialist Samantha Gallman at NCCSS and ran for the board position in 2024. Fellow social studies teachers Mary Henthorn and Taylor Taylor campaigned at the conference on her behalf bringing attention to her dedication to student engagement in social studies and history instruction. Kelly is well suited for the position with NCCSS which works to enhance social studies instruction through support, collaboration, and advocacy. Kelly was named the 2022 State History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and selected as the Owen High 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year. Anyone who works with Mrs. Dunbar is inspired by her deep love of history and her drive to make history accessible to students through local connections.
Mrs. Dunbar grew up in Asheville and is a graduate of A.C. Reynolds High School. She graduated in 2004 with her BA in History/Education, and from 2004 to 2006, she served in the United States Peace Corps in Uganda. In 2020, Kellygraduated from Pace University with her MA in American history. She wrote her capstone thesis, Pioneers In Community Building And Racial Uplift, Black Women In Buncombe County 1865-1930. She currently teaches AmericanHistory and AP American History at Owen High School and was chosen by the state as the North Carolina History Teacher of the Year for 2022.