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Oral History

Terrence M. Foushee - On education

Interviewed by Kathryn Wall and Gillian Kepley on July 23, 2024

“Servant leadership is, to me, learning who you are to find out what you can contribute to make your community better.”

- Terrence M. Foushee

Terrence Foushee is the Blue Ribbon Specialist for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. During the interview, he reflects on his experiences navigating Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Black women educators who influenced him to become a teacher. He also highlights how his parents, who are leaders in the Chapel Hill community, specifically his mom Valerie Foushee, taught him servant leadership and the value of education. He reflects on the role of teachers and educators in supporting students. Terrence discusses the achievement gap in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools and how he has worked to support students as they seek to eliminate the achievement gap.

Terrence M. Foushee - On education

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Oral history interview of Foushee, Terrence M. conducted by Wall, Kathryn on July 23, 2024 at Marian Cheek Jackson Center, Chapel Hill, NC.

Citation: Marian Cheek Jackson Center, “Terrence M. Foushee - On education,” From the Rock Wall, accessed July 13, 2025, https://fromtherockwall.org/oral-histories/terrence-m-foushee-on-education.

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In this Oral History

Terrence M. Foushee

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 Terrence Foushee - On teaching at Northwood (clip)

Terrence Foushee (TF): I taught at Northwood for about 8 and a half years. Kathryn Wall (KW): Did you go from that to a different school to teach English or to a different role? TF: I transitioned to the job that I’m in now, and that is the Blue Ribbon Specialist for the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate…

 Terrence Foushee - On the E3 camp (clip)

Terrence Foushee (TF): …because last week I had a chance to be a chaperone for the E3 camp run by Ms. Anissa McLendon. And she is giving middle school and high school Black youth a wonderful opportunity to explore and learn about science, and they go on field trips all the time, but she don’t play…

 Terrence Foushee - On AmeriCorps (clip)

Terrence Foushee (TF): So, after camp I applied to the Americorps program. Americorps in Triple C, the National Civilian Community Corps, which is the only team-based Americorps program, where for a year you serve in different cities, different towns across the country for about two months at a time…

 Terrence Foushee - On becoming a teacher (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): What kind of flipped that switch to make you say, “You know what, I think I’m gonna go back to school and become an English teacher.” Terrence Foushee (TF): [chuckles] A few, a few experiences. So the first experience was after I dropped out from college while I was trying to…

 Terrence Foushee - On pursuing a business major (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): You mentioned that you were a business major when you came right out of high school. What made you inclined in that direction initially? Terrence Foushee (TF): I don’t know. [laughter] I don’t know at all. I think that my self-perception and my family kind of being recognized, my…

 Terrence Foushee - On Black women teachers (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Do you feel like the Black women teachers that you’ve mentioned that they were more inclined to have those relationships with your parents than some of your other teachers? Terrence Foushee: Oh yes. I think part of it – and I could be making this up it’s just a general…

 Terrence Foushee - On his parents involvement in his education (clip)

Kathryn Wall: You had mentioned your parents and your brother. Was education something that, coming up, your family took very seriously? Terrence Foushee: Oh yes [laughter], definitely. So, my parents have never played about education and I think it’s funny that I say that because I consider myself…

 Terrence Foushee - On the poetry club (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): …The moment in young people's lives when being able to express what you are feeling, is really important, at that age. Terrence Foushee (TF): Yes, and I think that is part of the reason I ended up becoming an English teacher, again, because it didn't originally come from an…

 Terrence Foushee - On Blue Ribbon Scholars (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): What kinds of things do the Blue Ribbon Scholars who have the individual mentors, what sorts of the things do they tend to, what are some of the things that they do together, with their mentor? Terrence Foushee (TF): A lot of times the mentors bring their scholars, and it also…

 Terrence Foushee - On extracurricular activities (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Did you participate in any kind of extracurricular things in school? Terrence Foushee (TF): Yes, I played JV basketball my freshman year, I was terrible, but I was on the team so it was like one of those great moments, but I was also in a few clubs. I was in the Future Business…

 Terrence Foushee - On classroom engagement (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): It seems like English class, thinking back to my own experiences in English class, like there's a lot of story in English class, you’re talking about the stories that are in the literature, whether you're talking about people telling their own story, students recording their own…

 Terrence Foushee - On finding balance as a teacher (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): If you [Gillian] have any questions, I’d love for you to jump in, and also, if there’s anything you [Terrence Foushee] want to add before we wrap up that would be great. Gillian Kepley (GK): You had mentioned a while ago about your sleep schedule, and stuff like that, when you…

 Terrence Foushee - On Durham Tech (clip)

Terrence Foushee: So, after doing two years of AmeriCorps, I came back, and I knew that I wanted to go back to school. So I would say probably within a month of me returning home I applied to Durham Tech, to transfer into Durham Tech. I think I came home in August, maybe it was the beginning of…

 Terrence Foushee - On the history of the Blue Ribbon Program (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Can you tell me about the Blue Ribbon Program and how it came to be and what all it entails? Terrence Foushee (TF): I think that the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocacy Program started in ‘95 with the main goal of closing the achievement gap. The program is an opportunity access program…

 Terrence Foushee - On servant leadership (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): You've talked a little bit about your passion for servant leadership. Could you just maybe describe how you would define that and then why that's a passion for you? Terrence Foushee (TF): Servant leadership is, to me, learning who you are to find out what you can contribute to…

 Terrence Foushee - Sharing his appreciation (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Is there anything you’d like to add before we wrap up? Terrence Foushee (TF): One, I definitely appreciated this conversation because there are so many things that I got to think about and I really just want to show appreciation for a lot of the teachers, a lot of the Black women…

 Terrence Foushee - On his first year of teaching (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Do you remember your first day in the classroom as a teacher? Terrence Foushee (TF): I don’t even know! So I remember my room. I remember that my first year, that I had to share my room with another teacher but it was a blur. I know that I was sweating profusely and that it was a…

 Terrence Foushee - On lessons learned as a teacher (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): When you got into your own teacher education, what were some of the things that you know, was there anything that surprised you learning about how to be a teacher, or things that were more or less challenging or? Terrence Foushee (TF): Yeah, there's absolutely no way to make a…

 Terrence Foushee - On relationship building and service projects (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): What do you love about this role? Terrence Foushee (TF): I love a lot of things about this role. One, I get to experience what I might consider like life-changing moments with them. And in the classroom I loved, I used to love seeing their “Aha!” moments. But in this role, it…

 Terrence Foushee - On his parents (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): You mentioned your family being known in the community. Can you just back up and then tell us who your parents are and how long your family has been in this community? Terrence Foushee (TF): So my family has been here for a few generations. In the Foushee family, my dad, Stanley…

 Terrence Foushee - On the achievement gap (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): You mentioned the achievement gap. Was that something that you –. Terrence Foushee (TF): Oh, yes. KW: – that you got her involved. Was that a thing that she was concerned about? TF: Yes, yes. The - the achievement gap, and I don’t know the particulars of the story - but I know…

 Terrence Foushee - On his time at Chapel Hill High (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): And going back to your high school experience, I know from listening to the interviews we’ve done with your mother she went to Chapel Hill High School. Terrence Foushee (TF): Yes. KW: What year did you graduate from Chapel Hill High? TF: 2005. KW: Okay. And what was your…

 Terrence Foushee - On his teaching philosophy (clip)

Terrence Foushee (TF): One of the things I appreciate about students is like we don’t give them enough credit for how smart they are, and I mean like, emotionally aware, that is one of the things I truly appreciate about the students that I’ve had the opportunity to teach. Kathryn Wall (KW): Yeah,…

 Terrence Foushee - On eliminating the achievement gap (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): … in part to try to address the achievement gap, what else do you think needs to happen in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools system to reduce that gap and eliminate that gap in the future? Terrence Foushee (TF): What I think, and I don’t know how this happens, but it’s the…

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Kathryn Wall (KW): You mentioned that a few of the teachers had that combination of being like loving and nurturing on one side, and a little more stern and strict on the other side. What do you think that does for kids in the classroom? Terrence Foushee (TF): So, I think interestingly enough I just…

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Kathryn Wall (KW): Do you remember, all those English teachers that had an impact, what was it about English that kind of captured your imagination, what did they do that sparked that love of the language and literature? Terrence Foushee (TF): I think that's an interesting question, especially…

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Kathryn Wall (KW): Did you, in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System, have any teachers that really stand out to you? Terrence Foushee (TF): Yeah, so at the preschool level I loved my preschool teacher, her name is skipping me right now, but I just remember her being an incredibly nice teacher. One…

 Terrence Foushee - On his educational background (clip)

Terrence Foushee (TF): Alright so, first off I was educated here in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools starting at Frank Porter Graham for daycare and then transitioning to Sewell Elementary School for preschool through fifth grade. Actually through third grade, and I was part of the first class of…
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