Forty Under 40: Aterra Lowe

Aterra Lowe comes from a family of educators. Yet Lowe, whose mother was a principal, initially sought another career path.

She started college looking to become a nurse but learned she didn’t have a passion for nursing. She took some education classes and switched her major to become a middle school teacher after spending time in a sixth-grade English classroom.

“The engagement of what she was doing in her classroom and different things happening, and at that moment, I was like, ‘I do like English. I like children, and I think this is something I could get behind and be super passionate about.’”

The West Memphis native earned a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in middle-level education from the University of Arkansas. She taught middle school English in Bentonville and Rogers before joining Springdale Public Schools.

In 2017, she started as an instructional facilitator at Helen Tyson Middle School. Two years later, she was promoted to assistant principal at Har-Ber High School.

She was promoted to her existing role in July 2022. She works with another instructional specialist administrator and oversees instructional facilitators.

“I oversee the instruction in the building at Har-Ber,” she said. “I work very closely with Dr. [Paul] Greip, principal at Har-Ber … We discuss how we think instruction should go … I also oversee the teachers at Har-Ber High.”

Lowe has earned multiple accolades, including the 2017-18 Helen Tyson Middle School Teacher of the Year and the 2017 NWA Democratic Black Caucus Teacher of Inclusion and Diversity Award.

Some of her career goals include becoming a middle school principal and earning a doctorate in curriculum and instruction.

Lowe is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She enjoys traveling, reading and shopping.