ANDERSON — When she was in first grade, Terasha Webb had her first Black teacher. Webb, now principal at Edgewood Elementary School, became interested in teaching after that.
“When I went to school, we didn’t have a whole lot of Black teachers,” Webb said, as her next Black teacher wouldn’t be until she hit seventh grade.
Webb was also a teen parent and said her high school teachers took great care of her.
“They came and brought my work to me, They made sure I had stuff. My teachers made me stuff for my baby.”
These acts of kindness inspired Webb and further sparked her interest in teaching.
Despite not having many Black teachers throughout her schooling, Webb feels that it is important for Black youth to see people who look like them in school.
“It makes a difference when you can see somebody that actually does look like you and understands where you actually come from,” she said.
When she became Edgewood’s principal in September 2020, a Black student asked her, “Why are there no Black teachers here but you?” Webb encouraged him by telling him he should pursue teaching when he grows up.
As an Anderson native, Webb knows a lot of people in the Black community and can relate to her Black students’ life experiences.
“By growing up in Anderson … she can look at things with a little bit different perspective with some of the families,” said Pam Hubble, reading specialist at Edgewood.
However, Webb didn’t pursue teaching right away. Before becoming a teacher, she worked for the City of Anderson in various jobs and the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. Webb currently is executive director of the MLK Jr. Commission.
In 2000, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Anderson University after studying elementary education and teaching. Four years later, she started at Ball State University and obtained her master’s of education in 2007.
In August 2000, Webb began working for Anderson Community Schools as a librarian, as there were no open teaching jobs.
“You kind of get bumped where you need to go,” Webb said, as she was able to move to teaching in 2003.
During her time as a librarian, Webb worked among various distbrict schools. In 2003, she began teaching fourth grade at Valley Grove Elementary School.
Up until becoming principal at Edgewood, Webb worked at numerous schools within the district and taught almost every elementary grade level.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when she came, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” Hubble said of Webb being selected to lead the school.
Hubble recalled that some Edgewood teachers were nervous about getting Webb, a first-time principal, but Hubble commends Webb for the great job she has done.
Webb enjoys traveling in her free time and even displays her post cards in her office for students to see.
When she was teaching, she would line her classroom walls with post cards as well.
“I just put them all up so they (students) know there are other places other than Anderson.”
She has lived in Anderson for the majority of her life, only leaving to relocate to Texas for a short period before her teaching career began.
Webb tries to get her students to understand that Anderson is their community, and they need to take care of it and love it.
“If you don’t have any sense of community, you won’t change it,” she said.
In her office, Webb displays class photos and graduation announcements that previous students have sent her. She also has a large collection of children’s books on display that students can borrow.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin on February 23, 2022.