By Jamie Strickland
Kateland Thornton knew from an early age that she wanted to be a teacher. What she didn’t know until much later was that her calling would stretch far beyond the walls of a traditional classroom.
Today, she serves as a teacher and supervisor at House of Hope in Clayton, a nonprofit organization that operates both a residential program and an outpatient counseling center for teen girls navigating significant mental health and life challenges, including anxiety, trauma, PTSD, depression and self-harm. Over its 25 years of operation, House of Hope has served more than 350 residential clients.
The residential program is designed as a 12- to 18-month journey, with the goal that each student completes at least one full school year while in the program. Students live on campus and attend school as part of a structured environment focused on both academic progress and emotional healing. The organization is fully funded through donations and an annual gala fundraiser, with families contributing on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.
Thornton’s role there is about far more than academics. Every day, she helps young women see a future beyond their circumstances and believe they deserve a place in it. That commitment to changing lives — not just report cards — is why she is this year’s JNOW Magazine Inspiring Educator award recipient.
Teaching had always been in Thornton’s plan, although there was a moment when she considered another path. In high school, she was preparing paperwork to pursue a certified nursing assistant license when her grandmother reminded her of what she had always wanted to do.
“I remember filling out paperwork getting ready to put it in the mail, and my grandma stopped me,” Thornton said. “She’s like, ‘You know you don’t want this. You know you want to be a teacher.’”
Thornton took her grandmother’s advice and years later has never regretted it.
A Four Oaks resident, wife and mother of two, Thornton has built both her family and career in Johnston County, where she now helps guide young women through some of the most challenging seasons of their lives.
Looking back, she sees a clear thread that led her to her place at House of Hope.
Challenges she has walked through personally, seasons of uncertainty and her decision to step away from a stable teaching position all feel like they were preparing her for something deeper.
“I honestly believe that God put me there for a reason and I see it every single day,” she said. “All throughout those years leading up to it, I too went through some low times in my life, and so I just feel like God was preparing me to be able to experience what the girls that I work with now experience, so that I could have a stronger connection and relate to them more. So every single day, I get to live my purpose, which is to teach and help students that come through the classroom feel seen and understood.”
Before House of Hope, Thornton spent seven years teaching first grade in Johnston County Public Schools.
Feeling what she described as “a nudge from God,” she resigned without another position lined up. She knew she wanted to stay in education, but that position just didn’t feel right. She waited and wondered what would come next.
Then an opportunity appeared. A message on Indeed led her to House of Hope. After interviewing, she was offered and accepted the position, and never looked back.
At House of Hope, Thornton works with girls ages 12 to 18, many who arrive carrying not only emotional weight but also significant academic gaps, sometimes several grade levels behind.
Building trust, she said, is the first and most important step. Many of the girls who enter the program have experienced instability in other areas of their lives, and helping them feel safe enough to learn becomes the foundation for everything else.
Academically, students are assessed when they arrive and placed based on their skill level. It is not uncommon for high school-aged students to be working several years behind grade level, particularly in core subjects like math and English.
The curriculum is designed to close those gaps, allowing students to rebuild foundational knowledge before moving forward.
As they progress, students move through structured phases that gradually increase independence and responsibility. Early stages involve more direct guidance and support, while later ones emphasize self-direction and accountability, preparing them for transition beyond the program.
House of Hope currently serves up to eight girls at a time, allowing staff to provide highly individualized support while building meaningful relationships with each student, though the organization hopes to expand its capacity in the future.
For Thornton, the number is both encouraging and sobering.
“We help eight at a time, but there’s so many more,” she said.
While the program offers therapy, education and a safe structured home to live in, the broader family involvement is also an important part of their work.
“The family, they all have to work together so that they can all grow,” she said. “It’s not just about what happens at school or in therapy, it’s about their home environment as well.”
For Thornton, the most rewarding moments come when she sees students begin to recognize changes in themselves that once seemed impossible. When confidence replaces self-doubt, academic progress follows.
Young women who once questioned their value begin to understand that they have a place in the world and a future worth pursuing.
While she has been recognized as this year’s Inspiring Educator, Thornton is quick to point out that the work is never done alone.
“It’s the team,” she said. “It takes each of us in all departments in order to see a full transformation with each family that we get the privilege of working with.”
That transformation is what keeps her coming back each day. It is the reason she believes God led her to House of Hope, and why she sees purpose in the work she does there.
