Hello, Principal Kelly!

She and Kevin, her husband of twenty-eight years, have visited here “many, many times” and love Ocracoke.

The parents of three grown children (ages 23, 24 and 25), the Kellys traveled here on their “empty nest tour” when their youngest went to college.

Three years ago, they sailed their MacGregor 26 from Oriental, NC over to Ocracoke. From here, they went out Ocracoke Inlet and sailed down to Atlantic Beach. On the return trip, they cruised the Intracoastal Waterway.

About their adventure, Laura says, “We’re still married, we still love each other.” And they’re looking forward to sailing even more now that Ocracoke will be their home. 

They moved to Ocracoke from the Smith Mountain Lake area of Virginia, where they’ve lived for the past fifteen years. Kevin’s job as a sales rep with a hardwood flooring company allows him to work from anywhere.

Laura grew up in Connecticut, and sailed small boats as a kid. Before moving to Virginia, she and Kevin and their children lived in California for ten years. The name of their boat, Puddle Hunter, refers to family fun, California-style.

“It doesn’t rain much there,” Laura explained. “So when it did, we would go “puddle hunting” with the kids – driving around until we found big puddles to drive through. 

(Hopefully, the DOT will not solve our drainage problems before Laura and Kevin’s kids get to splash through the Back Porch/Blackbeard’s/Bella Fiore lake after a hard rain.)

With their sailboat, they can now hunt for slightly larger puddles, like Pamlico Sound or the Atlantic Ocean. Their kids are off on their own adventures – there’s a daughter in Virginia who’s a teacher (and married with a baby); a son in California who’s a chef; and a daughter who just joined the Peace Corps and headed out to Madagascar.

Laura’s new adventure led her to Ocracoke, where she started at Ocracoke School on July 1. She says she’s “extremely impressed with everything so far.”

“The teachers and staff are phenomenal,” she said. “I’m getting to know the people at school, and it’s been absolutely wonderful.”

Laura has a diverse background in education. She got her undergrad degree in Therapeutic Recreation, and worked in a hospital with children suffering from spinal cord and head injuries. After a 12-year break from work to raise her family (with three kids in three years – maybe it wasn’t much of a break!), she went back to school, earning a Master’s and Education Specialist’s degree from the University of Virginia. She’s also a certified reading specialist and has an endorsement in gifted education.

She’s worked as a classroom teacher, a technology resource teacher, an instructor for gifted students, and, most recently, as an “instructional coach” – the Virginia equivalent of assistant principal for elementary schools.

This will be her first time as a school principal, although she has been in administration for six years. She says she enjoys “working as a team to meet the needs of the students.”

The Kellys' reasons for choosing Ocracoke includes not only the beautiful sailing grounds of Pamlico Sound, and the classrooms of Ocracoke School, but also the people on the island. 

“I’m interested in becoming part of the community,” Laura said.