JUDSONIA — After 30 years of working in education, Shelia Whitlow, the newly retired superintendent of the White County Central School District, was quick to tell what she has learned from the experience.
“What I learned from the kids over the years are forgiveness, unconditional love and trust,” she said.
Whitlow grew up in the White County town of Providence on a squash farm, where Whitlow’s parents taught her and her siblings the value of hard work. Becoming an educator wasn’t something she had originally planned to do, but two personal tragedies and the encouragement of two mentors changed the direction of her life, she said.
“I graduated from Central High School in 1979 as valedictorian,” Whitlow said. “Monty Betts was principal and would not let me consider not going to college. However, as is the case of many young girls, I did not heed the advice of my principal and instead married at 17.
“At 21 years old, I found myself widowed with a 5-month-old child, but in the midst of my crisis, there he was again, Monty Betts, telling me to get back in school, get a degree and make something of myself. This time I listened, and despite his desire for me to be a math or science major, I earned my bachelor’s degree in elementary education.”
Whitlow said Betts continued to encourage her when she came to White County Central as the district’s curriculum administrator to get her specialist’s degree so she could one day take his place.
“It was because of him that I did just that and, in 2008, was hired to be his assistant,” she said.
“He taught me about how students need encouragement to break the cycle of poverty. From him I learned the power of a teacher to change a life. Because of his determination and sometimes downright nagging, my life was changed for the better,” Whitlow said.
“The other incident that inspired me as an educator occurred when I was sitting with my younger brother while he was on suicide watch,” Whitlow said. “During that first night in the hospital, he talked about teachers and how they had either built him up or torn him down. At the age of 26, he could recall details about hateful words and body language of teachers as far back as first grade.
“When he took his life at the age of 31, I was reminded of that evening, and I vowed to make his death and life meaningful by sharing his story. I penned an open letter to teachers to remind them of the power they have to change lives. His story made me a better teacher and administrator.”
In addition to Betts, Whitlow was also inspired by White County Judge Michael Lincoln when he was a school principal and Whitlow had her first teaching position at his school.
“[Lincoln] set the example of a true instructional leader, even before it was a term used often in education,” Whitlow said. “He mentored his young teachers, and he kept us focused on ‘remembering whose they are’ and that for some of our students, ‘that big yellow bus is the best thing they see each morning and the saddest thing they see each afternoon.’”
The kids Whitlow encountered over the years are what she enjoyed most.
“Being in education — it keeps you young,” Whitlow said. “It keeps you honest. It keeps you humble. The kids are just an encouragement every day.”
Some of the major accomplishments Whitlow achieved during her time as superintendent include installing a new playground, adding flashing signs on the highway to alert drivers to the school zone, and overseeing a gymnasium renovation and repairs to the district’s roofs that were leaking, but Whitlow considers her greatest accomplishment as something more than a completed project.
“When I look back on my teaching days, it’s the moment when you knew [a child] got it,” Whitlow said. “It was that moment when they caught on or learned or opened up to someone for the first time. I was really big into writer’s workshops, and during that period of teaching, reading their writing and seeing their progress was just so motivational, and it made me want to be even better as a teacher.”
As an administrator, Whitlow counts coming back to the school district where she was educated as her biggest achievement.
“Being able to come back here and finish my career was something that I dreamed of but didn’t think that it would ever be possible,” she said. “So when I got to do this, it was exciting. It’s been very fulfilling. Being back home and being a part of ‘Bear Nation,’ as we call it, I thought it was poetically fitting. It’s like coming full circle.”
Whitlow announced earlier this year that she would be retiring at the end of the school year but, instead, chose to leave early to allow the new superintendent an easier transition.
“We finished up all of our monitoring, and the audit was done, and everything was done. The board has hired someone who will be able to take over.”
Whitlow said the last quarter of the school year is usually spent looking toward the upcoming year, and it was just easier to go ahead and leave early so the transition would be easier for the staff.
“You’re almost in that lame-duck kind of time,” Whitlow said. “Once you’ve announced your retirement and they are bringing someone new on, I just felt that it was the best thing for the district, [for me], to step down and let the new person come in and let them get to know the faculty and the staff and the needs of the district.”
Dean Stanley, a former White County Central coach and middle school principal, formally accepted the position Feb. 17.
“I didn’t want to stay one day too long,” Whitlow said. “Apostle Paul talks about finishing the race, and being able to say that I finished strong was important to me. I wanted to still be ‘wanting’ to be here. I wanted to be sad when I left and not happy that I was getting out of something.”
Whitlow said she plans to spend her retirement with family, enjoying time with her children and grandchildren. Her husband travels frequently for work, and Whitlow plans to travel with him, along with picking up the hobby she learned from her mother — quilting.
“I also love to read, and I definitely want to spend some time reading,” she said.
For her legacy, Whitlow hopes people remember that it was the students who inspired her throughout her career.
“What I really want people to know is that I loved the kids,” Whitlow said. “I did what I did for service, and I see it as my ministry, and I loved it.”
When talking to students about what career path they should choose, Whitlow said, she uses her own experiences in finding her calling as an educator to guide them.
“Find something that you are going to love going to every day,” Whitlow said. “That’s what education has been for me. I loved it every day. I didn’t love everything that happened every day, but overall, it’s just been such a rewarding experience.
“Find that thing you would love to do where when the alarm goes off, you’re not thinking ‘ugh.’ Find what it is you are good at and that you enjoy, and that will inspire you to continue to better yourself. That’s the thing you need to work toward.”