The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal has named Aterra Lowe as a member of the 27th class of Forty Under 40 honorees.
The annual list recognizes emerging leaders for achievements in their professional lives and the community.
Aterra Lowe, a Springdale Public Schools instructional specialist, 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] Griip, 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.
A panel of the Business Journal’s editorial staff chose the honorees. To be considered, nominees must live and work in the Northwest Arkansas or Fort Smith metro.
The honorees, representing various professions such as education, law, healthcare, real estate, the arts, and the nonprofit sector, are achieving remarkable accomplishments, and their influence is bound to resonate for many decades. They all share a common trait — success in their respective fields and a profound passion for serving causes greater than themselves.
A panel of the Business Journal’s editorial staff chose the honorees. To be considered, nominees must live and work in the Northwest Arkansas or Fort Smith metro.
Editor’s note: Profiles for this year’s Forty Under 40 class were compiled and written by Jeff Della Rosa, Paul Gatling, Robin Mero, Nancy Peevy and Michael Tilley.
Originally published Aug. 13, 2023 by Talk Business and Politics. View the original story here.
