Curtis loves personalities of older students
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“I always thought I would be teaching kindergarten or first grade. That’s what I was trained in,” she said. “But I was assigned the older elementary grades and I loved it. It’s a great age group. Their personalities are great and it’s lots of fun.”
Curtis, a Warren County native, said she has always wanted to teach. Her inspiration to do so, she said, was her teachers at Eastside Elementary, who were all dedicated and caring professionals.
After graduating from the senior high, she headed to MTSU where she earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. She later earned her master’s degree in instructional leadership from Tennessee Tech.
All of her 10-year career in education has been spent in the Warren County School System. Her first two jobs came as she filled leaves at Irving College Elementary and Hickory Creek Elementary. She was then hired to her own position at Morrison, where she has remained ever since as the language arts (spelling and vocabulary) teacher for the school’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
The most difficult part of the job, she said, is teachers must be a jacks of all trades. “We have a wide variety of responsibilities, in addition to teaching to students, like bus duty and discipline,” she said. She added it is all worthwhile, however, when students have a “light bulb” moment, when they finally understand a concept or skill.
In addition to her teaching duties, Curtis also serves as Morrison Elementary’s cheerleading coach and sponsors the school’s Jr. Beta Club.
She and husband, Lee, have four children: Tia, Rylan, Kreed and Makinlee. Her kids keep her busy, she said, noting this summer she was coach of three different softball teams. At Fairview, she was awarded the Wayne Barkes Coach of the Year award.
When not at school, Curtis said she spends most of her waking hours with her family. The family attends Blue Springs Cove Church of Christ and recently completed the remodeling of a 100-year-old house.