Administration

Daniel N. Patton, Head of School

Mr. Patton has been a Head of School at three schools during the last 16 years and is starting his seventh year at Gaston Christian School. He has been married to Mary Ellen for 31 years, and they have four children. Mary Ellen teaches computer in the middle school. Their oldest daughter, Amy, is married and is a teacher at GCS. Their daughter Heather is married and is a radiologic technologist. Their youngest daughter Lauran, a GCS graduate, works in retail near Nashville, TN. Their son Ryan, also a GCS graduate, is a senior at Lancaster Bible College majoring in pastoral ministry.

Mr. Patton received his undergraduate degree from Liberty University, his graduate degree from Temple University, and is currently completing his doctoral work. Several major goals on Mr. Patton's list this year are the elementary school SACS accreditation and the construction of the new middle/high school building. Besides his responsibilities as Head of School, Mr. Patton has taught a variety of subjects, including Bible, accounting, Honors Statistics and computer.

Dr. Shirley Huelsman, Academic Dean

Shirley Huelsman, an educator since 1974, received her Bachelor and Master's Degrees in French from Winthrop University and her Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education and Supervision from The Ohio State University. During her career, Dr. Huelsman has taught students ranging from kindergarten through graduate school. In addition to her experience as a university supervisor and liaison for student teachers in the public schools and as an elementary education supervisor, she served as the Middle School Principal at Gaston Christian School for three years. In her role as Academic Dean, Dr. Huelsman will enjoy continuing her role as facilitator, helping both the students and the teachers of GCS to meet the challenges inherent to the teaching-learning process.

Shirley, her husband Glenn, and their son Kerby like to travel, visit museums, and fellowship with friends. Glenn is a Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service. Their son Kerby, a GCS graduate, is an engineering student a UNC-C.

Nancy McDaniel, Acting High School Principal

Nancy McDaniel received her undergraduate degree in English Education from Erskine College and holds a North Carolina teaching license in English/Language Arts (6-12). She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in School Administration at Gardner-Webb University. She taught for six years with Gaston County Schools and has been on the teaching staff at Gaston Christian for seventeen years. Nancy co-chaired the SACS Accreditation team for the high school and also serves as the Advanced Placement English teacher.

Nancy and her husband Sam, employed with Caromont Health, have two children, both graduates of Gaston Christian. David and his wife Sarah live in Denver, Colorado, where he attends law school. Their daughter Liz is graduate of Erskine College.

Virginia Conover, Acting Middle School Principal

Virginia received her undergraduate degree from The King’s College with concentrations in elementary education, social studies, and linguistics. She has done additional graduate coursework at Carlowe College and Shenandoah University. She holds teacher certification with the Association of Christian School International, has participated in administrative training through ACSI, and is permanently certified in the state of Pennsylvania. She has been involved in Christian education on the middle school level for 25 years and has previously served in an administrative capacity in the GCS middle school for seven years. Virginia has served as a co-chair of both the GCS High School and Middle School SACS projects. She has served on Peer Review Teams for SACS accreditation at Cramerton Middle School and Hickory Grove Baptist Christian School. Virginia is a member of Woodlawn Baptist Church where she teaches a women’s Sunday School Class.

Virginia has one son, Matthew, a GCS graduate. A recent graduate of Campbell University, Matthew and his wife, Jana, are currently living in Winston-Salem. Matthew is pursuing a PHD degree in Molecular Genetics at Baptist Medical Center, Wake Forest University.

Karen Brooks, Elementary Curriculum Dean

Mrs. Brooks received her undergraduate degree from Western Carolina University and her Master of Education degree in elementary education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds teaching certificates in the areas of Early Childhood (K-3), Intermediate (4-6), Middle School (7-9) with a Science concentration, and Reading education (K-12). She received Mentor training and certification with the Gaston County public schools. She was a classroom teacher for seven years, a supervising teacher for two years, taught at Gaston College for a year, and also served as Academic Advisor at Gaston Christian School's high school campus and elementary principal for several years. Her current responsibilities as Elementary Curriculum Dean are an important part of advancing GCS academics and our elementary school accreditation work.

Karen has been married to her husband, Curtis, for 19 years and they have one daughter, Meredith, who is in the 11th grade at Gaston Christian School. Meredith has been a student at GCS since the 4-year-old program.

Fred Chase, Elementary School Principal

Mr. Chase began his teaching ministry in 1957 as a math and science teacher in the public schools of Wheelersburg, Ohio. After teaching for two years, he began his administrative ministry as a supervising elementary principal in Belpre, Ohio. For the next 18 years, he held a variety of administrative positions that included 13 years as a public school superintendent in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1977, Mr. Chase received God's call to Christian education, which began as superintendent of Mansfield Christian School and has subsequently led to serving four other Christian schools as Headmaster.

Mr. Chase's B. S. and M. Ed. degrees were earned at Ohio University and his doctoral course work was completed at Penn State University.

Fred and his wife, Ruth Ann, have been married for 55 years and their family includes six daughters, four grandsons, three granddaughters, and one great-grandson.

Susan Jennings, Early Childhood Principal

Susan received a degree from Southern Wesleyan University, where she studied psychology and education. She has been married to David Jennings for 33 years. Their three children are graduates of Gaston Christian School: Allison works in retail management; Holly is working at The Blair, McGill and Hill Group; David, II, is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro school of Nursing. Susan has been with GCS for 15 years. She taught at the Catawba Heights Campus, and then moved to the Parkwood Campus as the elementary principal. She formerly taught at Kernersville Wesleyan Academy (Kernersville, NC), First Wesleyan Christian School (Gastonia, NC), and Nazarene Christian School (Asheville, NC). Susan's experience in education and her experience at GCS bring great strength to the Lowell Campus.