Venable on Aug. 1 ballot for Anderson County school board
THERESA VENABLE
Now that she has retired from her own teaching career, Venable hopes to continue being of service as a member of the Anderson County Board of Education.
Venable, of Clinton, is the Democratic candidate in the Aug. 1 election for the District 5 seat on the board.
Her parents were teachers, and as a child, she often was with them before and after school at events where they offered service beyond teaching, she said in an announcement.
“From them, I learned that being of service and giving back could make the world a better place,” Venable said.
“I want to be that school board member who works collaboratively to meet the diverse needs of students, to make their safety a priority, and to empower them to excel academically,” she said.
She also would be a school board member who listens to parents, offering a unique perspective as both a parent whose two children, now adults, attended public schools, and as a teacher who listened to what parents believed was important in their child’s education, she said.
As a school board member, Venable said she would make sure that tax dollars are spent wisely on public schools, and she would uphold the Anderson County school board motto: “Every Student, Every Day.”
Venable has 30 years of experience as a teacher in elementary and middle schools, along with involvement in two nationally known libraries, giving her a wealth of experience in educational issues, she said.
Her teaching career began at Elm Grove and Cedar Hill elementary schools in Oak Ridge, before she operated a state-licensed daycare center.
After that, she taught sixth grade for four years at Norris Elementary School.
She then taught fifth and sixth grades for 20 years at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, retiring in 2006.
Then her experience with libraries began.
After volunteering with the Children’s Defense Fund at Alex Haley Farm in Clinton, she became librarian at the Langston Hughes Library, and programs coordinator for the Children’s Defense Fund, a national nonprofit focused on well-being and racial justice for children and youth. She retired from CDF in 2022 after nearly 17 years there.
Venable now serves on the Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides books to an international community.
The Imagination Library mails books monthly to children from birth to age 5 at no cost to families.
Venable helps review and select age-appropriate children’s books for the program, which is based in Sevierville and funded by Parton and community partners in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.
Venable has served on the Anderson County Library Board and the boards of Girls Inc. of the Tennessee Valley and Clinch River Home Health. She was a member of the Pre-K Council of Anderson County and has volunteered with ASAP of Anderson County, a substance-abuse prevention program. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
The Women’s Political Alliance of Tennessee chose Venable as a recipient of its 2015 award for leadership in child advocacy.
She was selected as the 2011 recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Award, an annual recognition given by the Reference and Users Association of the American Library Association to the librarian who has actively promoted African American literature.
More information about Venable may be found on her website, theresavenableforschoolboard.com.