Shannon Terry

As the Director of Professional Learning for the Arlington ISD (TX), Shannon serves as a key strategist for continuous improvement on multiple levels - district, state and national levels. With a mind for the future with the future in mind, Shannon approaches learning with the zeal of a kindergartener and the finesse of a next generation thought leader. She is enthusiastic, innovative and dynamic with diverse experiences in designing, developing, implementing and evaluating professional learning programs, practices and policies. At present, her attention is focused on building a rock solid infrastructure in her own district to create the conditions necessary to optimize learning experiences for all. Ms. Terry is heralded as a true change agent, skilled at energizing groups and challenging the status quo. As such, it comes as no surprise that she and her team are highly invested in breaking the equivalency of the professional learning sound barrier as they work daily to unlock the secrets of agency, so that "EDUgency" (system agency) can result. As the recipient of the 2016 Patsy Hochman Learning Forward Scholarship, the work of Shannon's team is amplified by the partnership they enjoy with Learning Forward. As a Learning Forward Academy Class of 2018 participant, Shannon is confident that the vision for "EDUgency" can become a reality. Shannon also represents her school district as a member of the Deeper Learning Leadership Forum, a cohort-based leadership experience, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, addressing the questions and issues of educational inequity in order to lead reform efforts in local systems and around the country. As a cohort member, she travels to districts across the nation, such as the Mission District in San Franscisco, New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward, and Detroit Schools to participate in and lead project slices that bring awareness to deeper learning as a lever for equity. This September, Shannon will join the International Society for Technology in Education as a member of the technical work group. The ISTE TWG is tasked with updating the ISTE Standards for Administrators. As a member of the group, she will have the opportunity to contribute to the future direction of education and technology intended to serve the field for several years. On a personal level, Shannon is a self-proclaimed Twitter fanatic, catching the "Twitter bug" this past fall (August 2016). This December, she will be completing her dissertation entitled, "PLNs on Twitter and Their Impact on Teacher Ratings in the Texas Teacher Appraisal System". Her scholarly work around Twitter, and even more so her Twitter testimony, excite people around the potential and possibilities of personal learning networks, especially in terms of PLNs' impact on learners. Her blog-in-progress, expected to launch this fall, is appropriately named, "My Heart Goes Twitter-Patter"!

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]