Yolanda Martin is a writer/blogger and mother of two (Justice Adams and Ebony Martin) who is actively involved in her children’s education. Yolanda is an alumnus of Memphis City—now Shelby County Schools—having graduated from Northside High School, where she won a $10,000.00 scholarship during her senior year (1992) as grand prize in the Memphis area “Share the Dream” essay contest…
Yolanda posing with her high school English instructor, Mrs. Kathy Crawford, holding the Coca Cola plaque that was presented to Northside High School for her win of a grand prize $10,000 scholarship.
She attended Humes Middle School, the famed alma mater of Elvis Presley, which is presently Humes Preparatory Academy (though, per Yolanda, it would have been more ideal as a school of the arts, in light of its significance and Yolanda’s early desire to become, among varied interests, a *fashion designer)…
*Yolanda also hoped and would still like to see a Fashion design program at the Memphis College of Art…, prospectively the Memphis College of Art & Design, though her first love is writing (critical thinking/problem solving).
Other Memphis-Shelby County Schools attended by Yolanda include Carnes Elementary School, Gordon Elementary School, and Brookmeade Elementary School.
Yolanda also briefly attended H.W. Byers High School in Hollysprings, Mississippi.
Higher Education
Yolanda is a graduate of Atlanta Metropolitan College, from which she holds an Associates degree in Philosophy. She, too, is an alumnus of the Atlanta Job Corps, from which she graduated with a Business Clerical diploma.
Yolanda additionally attended Georgia State University, where she pursued and is a single semester shy of acquiring an English degree with a concentration in Advanced Composition & Rhetoric.
The GSU-Shelby County Schools Connection
The merger of Memphis and Shelby County Schools formed the largest school district in the state of Tennessee and one of the largest in the nation. Yolanda’s employment in and visitation to numerous schools within the district has proven centripetal to the Yolanda Michelle Martin Education & Social Reform Project, which began as a Technical Writing project at Georgia State that aims to address every major and other issue in education. Yolanda’s education-focused blogs and former employment in SCS helped the district to achieve its recognition for leading the nation in academic growth in 2013.
Yolanda’s work/school assignments included:
Bethel Grove Elementary School
Brookmeade Elementary School (Yolanda Michelle Martin alma mater)
Carnes Elementary School (Yolanda Michelle Martin alma mater)
Florida-Kansas Elementary School
Georgian Hills Elementary (currently an Achievement District school)
+Germanshire Elementary School
Hawkins Mill Elementary School
Hickory Ridge Elementary School
Highland Oaks Elementary School
*Houston Middle School (Currently a Germantown Municipal District school)
*Millington Central High School
Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows Elementary School
Ridgeway Early Learning Center
Robert R. Church Elementary School
*Shadowlawn Middle School (Currently Bartlett Ninth Grade Academy)
Sheffield Career and Technology Center
White Station Elementary School
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+Indicates 2012-2013 Top (Reward) Schools for Academic Achievement and Annual Growth. *Indicates an original Shelby County School. All other schools are original Memphis City Schools.
This site is a resource that is specifically for educators, students, and parents, whereas the Yolanda Michelle Martin Education, Business, and Social Innovation blog, which entails an education reform category, is primarily for policy makers. Both sites are an extension of Yolanda’s Education Reform project, which is entailed in her Georgia State University graduation portfolio…