Terry serves as the Head of School, a new leadership role for the City Academy of Atlanta this year. She joins the staff with a strong background in school and district leadership, teacher professional development and instructional expertise. Terry values developing relationships and building partnerships with families to provide excellence in education. During her more than three decades in Cobb County Schools, she had the opportunity to serve in many roles as an employee and as a parent. She believes that God called her to the teaching profession and continued to open doors in the education field that allowed her to have a Christian influence in the public school arena. She believes her passionate calling helps her create vision and inspire others to be part of the mission. During her public school career, in many different roles, she was able to inspire others to adopt the organization’s vision and be a part of living out the mission of the school.

As a teacher, she brought center-based and project-based learning to her school. As a leader for the district, she set up model classrooms throughout the county to provide professional development for teachers in the classroom with students rather than lecture style training. As a District Level Elementary Language Arts Supervisor she led a 200 teacher committee to bring leveled text libraries to every elementary classroom in the district instead of basal readers. As a principal she led her school to be one of only two schools in the district to receive the distinction of being a “90 90 90” school. (90% minority, 90% poverty, and 90% at or above grade level achievement) As a K-12 District Director of Interventions and Support she established the first teacher leader academy , “The Power of One.”

Since retirement from her professional career, Terry has been actively pursuing teaching and leadership roles in the community and in her church. She has taught semester long classes on Positive Parenting to mothers living at the Garden Shelter that is part of the 7 Bridges Ministry, Terry and her husband are members of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church where she was part of launching the Grandparent Ministry and teaches a Legacy of Faith Grandparenting Bible Study weekly. She and her husband provide a twice a month Sunday worship service for a Sr. Living Facility near their church. Terry teaches classes at the Timothy Ministry, an enrichment program for homeschoolers at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, where her twin granddaughters participate. Terry’s educational background includes a B.S. in Education from Kennesaw State University, a M. Ed in Leadership & Supervision from State University of West GA and an EdS in Leadership from State University of West GA; ESOL certification K-12; Coaching endorsement K-12; and national trainer certification from Thinking Maps, Dr, David Hyerle; Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; Ruby Payne, A Framework For Teaching Children of Poverty: and Positive Discipline in the Classroom by Dr. Jane Nelson.

Terry believes that the examples of her visionary leadership, educational credentials, and leadership roles since retirement are only evidence of what God has done in her life. She believes that God has blessed her with gifts and talents and her passion is for using them to her best ability to finish strong for His Kingdom.