Terrell, in her 14th year of teaching, teaches fifth grade ELA and social studies at Lagonda Elementary School in the Springfield City School District.
Terrell and three other teachers will receive the Excellence in Teaching award March 23. The 38th awards program is sponsored by the Springfield Rotary Club, the Springfield Foundation, the Greater Springfield Partnership, Meijer and Wilson Sheehan Foundation.
After graduating from Cedarville University, Terrell taught a self-contained fifth grade class in a small Christian school in Dayton her first year of teaching. She then moved around the next few years before coming back to the Dayton area.
Terrell started teaching fifth grade ELA at Patterson-Kennedy Elementary School, where she taught for a few years before starting a family — becoming a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling her four daughters.
“I was initially unsure about homeschooling because not having our daughters in a classroom was a very foreign idea to me. However, it was incredible to be able to give our daughters a solid start on their educational journey by teaching them how to learn so that they eventually pursued their own learning,” she said, explaining all four of them graduated high school, college or trade school, in addition to other higher education.
After being away for 21 years, Terrell returned to the classroom and taught seventh and eighth grade math and science up until four years ago when she was “able to go back to the grade where it all started — fifth grade.”
“I thoroughly love being back in the classroom,” she said.
“My favorite moments are when students have the “light-bulb” moment of understanding a concept. Seeing them grow and improve in an area where they were previously struggling is wonderful. When I see their happiness and excitement when they finally “get it,” it makes all the time and hard work worth the effort."
Terrell said about the award that she is “truly honored and humbled to receive this award. This is not something that I ever expected. I am truly grateful.”
She earned her undergraduate degree from Cedarville University and has earned over 40 graduate hours of coursework.
2026 Excellence in Teaching Award
This is the last story in a four-part series by the Springfield News-Sun on the teachers in Clark County receiving the 2026 Excellence in Teaching Award.
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