KoKo M. Thornton
Marketing and Outreach Coordinator, Office of Magnet and Curriculum Enhancement Programs, Wake County Public School System, Raleigh
Education: Bachelor of Creative Arts, concentration in Theatre Education, UNC Charlotte (1997)
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
KoKo M. Thornton attended UNC Charlotte as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow and graduated magna cum laude. During college, she worked as an actor and professional costumer, including serving as a dresser for the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”
“I loved my time in the costume shop, working with Bob Croghan, and the professional costuming experience that this city’s thriving theatre scene provided,” she said in her acceptance speech for the 2026 COAA Distinguished Alumni Award in Theatre. “I loved the individual support and the tight community feel” at UNC Charlotte, she said.
Croghan, retired theatre professor, remembered KoKo as “one of the most accurate and fastest stitchers I have ever met.”
“KoKo had the most remarkable energies, extraordinary work ethic, and boundless good cheer,” he added. “No job, no matter how odd, seemed to phase her. We needed a dog in a production of Annie to be another color — Sandy. She and another crew member valiantly tried to tint the dog’s hair— it turned pink! Clairol failed us.”
Upon graduating, KoKo began her teaching career at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, where she received a North Carolina Theatre Conference award for outstanding direction. She later returned to her hometown of Raleigh to begin a 24-year tenure as theatre teacher and director at Enloe Magnet High School. There, she became department chair of the district’s largest arts department and a certified mentor teacher.
Gifted in curriculum development, KoKo authored theatre arts courses, co-created district theatre curriculum and collaborated on the development of the North Carolina Theatre Standard Course of Study. She also served a term as president of the North Carolina Theatre Arts Educators.
While at Enloe Magnet High School, KoKo directed and produced more than 34 theatre productions, with her shows and students earning numerous honors from NC Thespians, The Capital Awards, and Durham Performing Arts Center Rising Stars. Notably, five of her students have participated in the prestigious National High School Musical Theatre “Jimmy” Awards. Countless former students have gone on to professional careers in theatre as actors, designers, directors, educators and more.
KoKo’s dedication to education and the arts has been recognized with multiple awards, including the 2017 NC Theatre Arts Educator of the Year and the 2025 Inspiring Teacher “Jimmy” Award. In 2024, following her announcement of retirement from the classroom, she was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by the governor of North Carolina for her significant contributions to theatre and education statewide.
Now she champions public magnet schools in her role as an outreach and marketing coordinator in Wake County Public Schools System, where she fosters community and family engagement and supports recruitment efforts.