Courtney Smith

Senior Specialist, South Central

csmith@niet.org

Courtney Smith joins NIET with over 15 years of experience as a Louisiana Educator. Her most recent roles include Principal and Executive Master Teacher/TAP Coordinator in Claiborne Parish. Courtney's passion is ensuring all students are provided the opportunities for success through building district leadership and school-based leadership capacity.

Courtney taught Math in grades 4-8 before becoming an Assistant Principal and Principal. During her work as Principal in Claiborne Parish, she was involved in grant writing to ensure funds were available for the district to implement TAP and Best Practices district wide.

Courtney was born in Monroe, Louisiana and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University. In 2014, she completed her Masters in Ed Leadership from Concordia University.

Why are you passionate about working at NIET?

As an AP and Principal, I was involved in implementing full TAP and I experienced first hand the success that comes from providing teachers with collaboration time that is rooted in their student data and building leadership capacity through the structures of an effective ILT. As a leader of a school and district, I was able to see the growth throughout the school and district within the first few months of implementation. I am honored to be able to work with NIET and share with other educators and leaders the power of our work.

What do you do in your free time?

I have two boys that keep me busy. My 14 year old runs varsity Cross Country and both of my boys rodeo. Most of my free time is spent running to their events and cheering them on for success. We love to travel to the mountains and make as many memories as we can together.