Tracy Bradshaw

Background

About Tracy Bradshaw

I started my teaching career in Grant County, KY. I taught the second grade for two years in a school where there was only one teacher per grade level. At recess I pulled teeth, cut hair, tutored, etc. When I moved to TN I did not have a job in place. I put my application in with Knox County Schools and had two interviews. Donna Parrot, the principal at Pleasant Ridge placed me in the first grade. After teaching in Knox County for several years and having two sweet boys of my own, I decided to work part-time. Oak Ridge had a job share opening for a fourth grade position. I taught fourth grade for five years, and my principal came to me with a first grade opening. It was full-time, and since the boys were in school at that point, I decided to take it. I taught first grade from 1998 through 2011 driving about 35 minutes each morning and afternoon. In October of 2011 my life was dramatically changed by the shooting death of my son, Sawyer, who was 19 years old. He protected his friends during a robbery in Knoxville but lost his own life in standing up to the robbers. Trials are over. The shooter got a life sentence plus more years added for other crimes. The one with him took a plea and got 25 years. After a two year grief stricken period of shock, I decided it was time to go back to work in Oak Ridge. It was then that I was offered a first grade position two minutes from my house in Morgan County. It has been the perfect place for reentering the work force. Experience and dedication are appreciated and demonstrated in notes left on my desk, evaluation forms, drop-in visits, checks on standards taught and planbook design, and just passing by administration in the hall. In all the years I have taught, I have made close connections with many coworkers and remain in touch with friends from my teaching positions. There is much kindness in the country, and the drive is a dream! I have come full circle.