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Jackson graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999 with leadership certification and the degree of Specialist in Education.

Traci Jackson (EdS ’99), principal at Shirley Hills Elementary School in Houston County, was one of only seven educators in the nation to receive the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership on Nov. 15 at the 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C.

“I offer my congratulations to Dr. Jackson on this prestigious recognition,” said State School Superintendent John Barge (EdD ’04), a fellow UGA grad.  “Great schools begin with great leaders in the building, and Shirley Hills Elementary School’s success is clear evidence of Dr. Jackson’s strong leadership.”

Among her accomplishments, Jackson led her school’s transition to a school-wide Title I school and the shift from the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum to the Georgia Performance Standards. Both challenges required her to communicate a sense of urgency while diligently attending to the needs of her students and teachers.

With student eligibility for subsidized meals doubling from 33 percent to 66 percent, Jackson secured resources to add more instructional staff and teaching technologies. She led the move to a standards-based curriculum through professional development, collaborative planning, and professional learning communities and continues to ensure that teachers receive advanced professional learning and training in using assessment data, according to a press release from the
State Department of Education.

To meet the needs of struggling students, Jackson developed a morning tutorial program now in its fifth year. Converting the school cafeteria into a classroom, she serves as lead teacher alongside others in providing students an extra 45 to 60 minutes of math and reading review. Shirley Hills has been a Title I Distinguished School for eight years.

Jackson completed her certification and Master of Science Middle Grades Education from Fort Valley State College in 1993. She taught fourth grade in Bibb County at Springdale Elementary transferring to Houston County the next year as a fifth-grade teacher at David A. Perdue Elementary School. In 1999, she graduated from the University of Georgia with leadership certification and the degree of Specialist in Education. She received her Doctorate of Educational Leadership from Argosy University/Atlanta in 2007.   Dr. Jackson served as Assistant Principal for Westside, Park wood and Lindsey Elementary Schools. She was appointed as principal  of Shirley Hills Elementary in 2002.  Under her leadership, the school has received the School Bell Award twice for educational programs in the school and has been awarded Title 1 Distinguished School for the past six years. The school has made AYP for the past nine years. It received the 2011 Honorable Mention High Flying School Award  and has also been nominated for the Blue Ribbon Schools Award 2010-2011.

The Terrel H. Bell Award recognizes today’s outstanding school leaders and the vital role they play in overcoming difficult circumstances. Bell began his career as a high school teacher and bus driver. As a teacher, principal, superintendent, state commissioner of education and as Commissioner of the Office of Education under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and Secretary of Education under President Reagan, Bell exemplified educational leadership at its finest.