My Biography

Spencer Thornton is currently serving as an administrative intern at Portsmouth Public Schools in Portsmouth, Virginia. His responsibilities extend across both elementary and secondary educational levels and encompass various school leadership tasks, including conducting teacher observations, tracking and monitoring student data, managing special education requirements, overseeing student discipline, presenting during faculty meetings, and developing opportunities for community engagement. In addition, he holds the position of 2025-2026 Standards of Learning (SOL) Remediation Coordinator and Saturday School administrator at Park View Elementary School. Mr. Thornton aspires to become a principal who facilitates academic success for both students and teachers through collaboration, cultural awareness, and the establishment of a student-centered educational environment.

Before his current role as an intern, Mr. Thornton enjoyed a successful 15-year career as a music educator at Park View Elementary School, where he taught general music to students from kindergarten through sixth grade. He also conducted an after-school Orff ensemble for fourth to sixth graders and a chorus for students in third to sixth grades. His innovative pedagogical strategies have enabled his students to achieve recognition at the state level, including participation in the All-Virginia Elementary Chorus (AVEC), Virginia Children's Chorus (VCC), and All-Virginia Elementary Orff Ensemble (AVEO), of which his school often served as the sole representative for Portsmouth Public Schools.

In addition to his experience in elementary music education, Mr. Thornton has taught seventh and eighth-grade choir at Churchland Middle School in both 2011 and 2017. His expertise in secondary choral directing has facilitated the admission of selected students into the District IV Middle School Chorus and the All-Virginia Middle School Honors Choir.

Mr. Thornton's pedagogical practices are underpinned by effective instructional dissemination. He employs a constructivist approach to teaching music, which has proven highly successful with his students. His dedication to music education is further evidenced by his national certification in various methodologies, including Kodály, Feierabend, Smithsonian Folkways' World Music Pedagogy, Orff Schulwerk, Music Learning Theory (MLT), Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and SongWorks. His continuous commitment to professional development has earned him multiple consecutive nominations for "Teacher of the Year" and resulted in recognition from his school. He has also achieved national publications, served as an invited workshop clinician at regional events, provided consultations on elementary general music, and held various board member positions.

As a respected member of his school community, Mr. Thornton serves as a mentor at both the building and division levels, acts as grade chair, collaborates with neighboring universities as a cooperating teacher, and contributes as a curriculum writer. He has also participated as an adjudicator for several district choral auditions. Mr. Thornton holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Music Education from Norfolk State University and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Learning from the University of St. Thomas.