Shelby Cook – Technical Assistance Team Director, West TN
Shelby earned her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Memphis and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Mississippi. Shelby is a Licensed School Social Worker and Licensed Master Social Worker. Prior to serving as a School Social Worker in both the preschool and middle school settings, Shelby enjoyed working with children and families through community mental and behavioral health agencies. Through these experiences, Shelby gained a passion for leveraging family and community partnerships to enhance behavioral and mental health outcomes. As a part of the TSC team, she enjoys continuing this work by promoting family and community engagement and mental health and wellness within RTI2-A + RTI2-B. Shelby is particularly interested in supporting educators as they build systems to support all students, through practices that are culturally relevant, trauma-responsive, and centered on equity.
Sandra Harper – Technical Assistance Consultant
Sandra Harper served as a public educator for over forty years as a principal, curriculum specialist, special education supervisor, and superintendent of schools. Sandra brings the local school and district perspective to the implementation and sustainability of aligning RTI2-A + RTI2-B programs. Her firsthand experience enhanced her understanding of the different support stages when implementing the alignment for academic and behavioral expectations. At the local level, she observed the impact of behavioral strategies in coordination with positive academic strengths. Serving as an educational consultant in the past four last years has solidified her commitment to both academic and non-academic strategies. She looks forward to providing opportunities for districts and schools to move forward with an alignment that will improve students’ performance.
Victoria Perry – Technical Assistance Consultant
Victoria received her bachelor’s from the University of Memphis, and her graduate degrees from Union University. She served as an assistant principal for middle school and high school for 10 years where she led the support for school wide discipline. As an assistant principal she was trained by the University of Memphis team on RTI2-B and implemented successfully at the school level. She is excited to share the many benefits and best practices of positive behavior systems.
Carolyn Stark – Technical Assistance Consultant
Carolyn earned her bachelor’s from Wright State University and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Tennessee Martin, and her Specialist degree in Reading from the University of Arkansas. During her 30-year career in education, Carolyn taught Language Arts in elementary and middle school, as well as high school English. She also led the Reading Recovery intervention program in two districts, provided training, and oversee teachers in the program. She also developed and delivered classroom literacy training to all K-3 teachers in two districts and neighboring districts. Since retiring, she served as an Exemplary Educator for the TDOE, working with at-risk schools for two years. Most recently, she has worked as a Behavior Consultant for West TN Behavior Supports Project. Carolyn’s area of interest and professional goal is, through the current grant, to help districts align academic and behavior data that will result in the improvement of students’ intervention outcomes.
Debbie Williams – Technical Assistance Consultant
Debbie earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee Martin and obtained a certification as a Vision Specialist from Middle Tennessee State University. She worked as a special education resource educator teaching braille and cane skills. She served as a district reading consultant, RTI-A district coordinator, and a consultant and trainer for RTI2-B. She has presented in several conferences on RTI2-A and RTI2-B. During her years of classroom observations, one aspect that stood out is “that a teacher cannot maximize instruction if he or she is teaching to the corner (dealing with behavioral issues)”. She would like to elevate the benefits for educators to consider academic, behavior, and social and emotional skills to produce a society filled with responsible and successful citizens. She is passionate about providing educators with professional development on implementing strategies and interventions to increase academic achievement and decrease behavioral challenges.
