A Triangle-area superintendent is responding to questions surrounding the dissertation she wrote to get her doctorate in 2019.
Dr. Nyah Hamlett, who has been the superintendent of the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School System for two years, posted a message on the school district's website, defending her work.
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Parts of her dissertation are raising questions about citing sources.
In a statement, Hamlett says she reviewed her dissertation from the College of William & Mary after questions from a News and Observer reporter in late November.
She writes: "In doing so, it was clear that the sourcing and citations provided proper credit and accurately reflected the research that contributed to my final product. However, the placement of some citations and some word choices to summarize or synthesize information could’ve been done differently."
WRAL found a handful of quotation and citation issues in the 2019 document.
In one section, the wording matches exact phrases from a 2001 US Surgeon General's report.
While the report is cited at the top of the section, none of the direct quotes are identified as such, and an incorrect citation is linked.
In another section, Hamlett cites a 2018 study, but she then includes an exact quote without identifying it as a word-for-word reproduction.
In a similar instance later, Hamlett again cites a book, but uses a direct quote and does not include a quotation.
In her statement to the community posted on the school district's website, Hamlett says she maintains her commitment to transparency and accountability.
She writes: "I realize that no dissertation, article, or book is free from errors, so I am in the process of having my dissertation reviewed once more for my own peace of mind."
The College of William & Mary tells WRAL News they are not involved in the review mentioned by Hamlett.
The university wrote in an e-mail that they would not be commenting further on education records.