Kathleen Thomas, Delaware's 2005 State Teacher of the Year, is a 1979 Alumnus of Wesley College, where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. After earning her Marketing Education Certification in 1985, she began teaching Marketing and Accounting at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware. She was named the Teacher of the Year for both Caesar Rodney High School and Caesar Rodney School District, in 2004.

Kathleen received a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Wilmington College in 1990 and Secondary School Principal's certification in 1994. She went on to earn her National Board Certification in 2002, in the area of Career and Technical Education with a concentration in Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship and Information Management.

Kathleen was a recipient of the Horace Mann-NEA Foundation Award for teaching excellence in 2005. This award was created to recognize, reward, and promote excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession. Thomas sums up her philosophy about teaching, "I am committed to preparing kids for life after high school, whether it be to get them ready for college, prepared them for the realities of advancing in the work force, or simply for life in general. I build community service and volunteerism into my classroom so that everyone gets a sense of civic and self pride."