The Mathews County School Board fittingly tapped one of its own former outstanding students to head up the division’s gifted program.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the board unanimously appointed Lesley Rae Hunley to serve as gifted coordinator. Hunley, a 2003 graduate of Mathews High School, was valedictorian of her class.

After graduating from MHS, Hunley enrolled at the College of William and Mary, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2006. While a teacher in Poquoson City Public Schools, she received the Meritorious New Teacher Candidate designation from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Hunley most recently taught at Gloucester’s Abingdon Elementary School. She was the 2009-2010 recipient of the Edward E. Brickell Leadership Partner Award from the College of William and Mary’s School of Education for her scholarship and dedication. She is currently working on her master’s in educational leadership at William and ...