Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Week: Tia Foster

JACKSON, Tenn. — “All of our children are smart, and I have to believe in it first before they’ll believe in it,” Tia Foster said.

Her mentality while working with her 7th and 8th grade math students at Rose Hill Middle School is to get them to believe they can succeed. Foster said math is not always easy but she encourages her students to never give up.

“When they start getting that light back in their eyes and they start talking about how smart they are — it makes it all worth it,” Foster said.

Foster has been teaching for 17 years and says there is never a dull moment. Her class is always doing something different.

“I like to get up and move,” Foster said. “They’re expected to sit there and work through the things, and it gets really boring after a while. So, if they can get up and move or use their hands or manipulatives.”

Foster grew up in Lexington and attended UT Knoxville. She says she was inspired to teach because her mom was also an educator.

“A good educator is someone who will continue working with the kids until they’ve came as far as they can,” Foster said.