Published September 1, 2026
BY JADE GRANBERY
After more than a decade as an English teacher, five more as a librarian and seven away working from education, Sherry McGowan has returned to the high school environment as Carmel High’s new librarian and English teacher.
Her career began at Granada High School in Livermore, where she taught English and then worked as the school’s librarian. After taking time away from education to work in grant writing and project management for a nonprofit, she returned to education as an International Baccalaureate program coordinator at Joe Michell TK-8 School.
“I missed high school, and I missed the library, so I was looking for librarian jobs,” says McGowan.
The opportunity at Carmel High was especially appealing because of a long-standing connection to the area. The book-lover says living on the coast has always been a dream and that she would often drive past Carmel High wondering what it would be like to work there.
Just one night before school began this August, McGowan learned she would also be teaching a period of sophomore Honors English.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been teaching, so it’s fun to be back in a classroom,” she says.
As a librarian, McGowan hopes to expand information literacy instruction helping students with research, reading and citations. She also would like to introduce more activities to the library and encourage more students to use the space.
