Contributor

Terry N. Ford

Co-Founder, Lumin Education, a system of public Montessori schools proving all children can succeed when we start young and involve parents

Terry N. Ford, a bilingual first grade teacher, opened a school for eight children - sharing donated space with a neighborhood methadone clinic - in response to concerns of neighborhood parents who saw their children falling through the cracks in public school, branded “failures” as early as second grade.

Since that day in 1978, she has engaged a wide spectrum of the Dallas community, leveraging private and public funds to develop Lumin Education – a nationally and internationally recognized organization that serves more than 600 urban, low-income, and immigrant families on four campuses. With its holistic approach that includes parent education beginning in pregnancy, Montessori Early Head Start (pregnancy to age 3) and public charter school classrooms for children ages 3 to 9, Lumin has garnered praise from politicians, civic leaders, and educators for parental involvement, student success rate, and child-centered philosophy and has fulfilled its mission of proving that all children – regardless of race or income – can succeed when you start young and involve parents. In neighborhoods that struggle with poverty and high dropout rates, Lumin alumni graduate from high school at a rate of 94% with 89% of those graduates attending college.

Ford holds a degree in elementary education from Southern Methodist University and the Montessori Primary diploma from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). She has lectured at universities and conferences and has testified before the Texas legislature on education issues. Based on Lumin Education’s outstanding results with children from primarily poverty-level families, Ford has been honored with the Dallas Historical Society Award for Excellence in Education; the Real Estate Council’s Dreamers, Doers and Unsung Heroes Award; and three awards from Southern Methodist University: Distinguished Alumni Award, Simmons School of Education Luminary Award, and Centennial History Maker Award.

Submit a tip

Do you have info to share with HuffPost reporters? Here’s how.