By Joycelyne Fadojutimi

Like most successful persons Dr. Shalonda Wilcott-Adams followed the glittering example of her family. Support is their family’s operative word.

“My family have always been my main supporters in all of my endeavors,” she says. “My parents, Harry and Janie Wilcott reside in Mansfield, Louisiana. I am grateful for all of their support even at this phase of life.”

Indeed, Dr. Adams’ resume is a litany of success in her quest to help students who need it most. She has been working for Pine Tree ISD since 2006. Adams has done it all – educational aide, special education life skills teacher, autism in home trainer and currently a principal. However, that is not all. There is more. Since 2018, Adams has been an adult education literacy instructor. Most recently, she added Adams Academia to her list of accomplishments.

Adams passed on to her children, the strong protestant work ethic she learned from her parents. For example, she encourages and enables them to participate in extracurricular activities in school and church programs as well as volunteering in the community. Her children, Larry Adams, Jr., LaSeanda Wilcott, Gabrell Adams, Izrell Adams; daughter-in-love Jazmin Merriman-Adams and seven grandsons gladden her heart as she watches them seriously applying what they learned from her proactive no-nonsense and compassionate parenting school.

“To see them thriving as adults, and giving back to the world in their own individual ways brings a sense of pride and satisfaction that the seeds sown long ago continue to grow and produce fruit,” she says.

Adams married the love of her life, Larry, in 1995. Their flame is still too hot to handle hence, they are still sweethearts. This devoted husband is also a loyal and dependent hard worker. He worked 20 years for the City of Longview and has put in another 20 years at Pine Tree ISD. He currently works in the district’s transportation department.

Moreover, he is an ordained elder at Longview’s True Vision Ministries. In addition, he serves with the Worship Team. According to Adams, her husband Adams Sr. is her number one supporter. He encourages her to do difficult tasks.

Adams’ extensive education and accolades cannot be listed for lack of space. Nonetheless, it is important to note some distinguished highlights:

• Louisiana State University – academic scholarship, 1991-1994.
• Kilgore College – associates of arts, December 2002.
• University of Texas at Tyler – Bachelor of Science, criminal justice, May 2004.
• LeTourneau University – alternative teacher certification, May 2007.
• University of Texas at Tyler – master’s in educational leadership, May 2011.
• University of Texas at Tyler – superintendent certification, June 2012.
• Walden University – Doctor of Education, August 2022.

All of the above and much more prepared Adams for her PTISD career position as alternative campus principal since 2014.

“It has been an incredibly amazing journey,” she says. “I have the privilege of serving the Pine Tree ISD community as the administrator of two very vital programs, the DAEP and ABU,” she says.

Her work with PACE STRONG centers on foundational character building. It started during the two years she served PACE as its first full-time elementary teacher. After twelve years on-the-job learning and refinement, the program is effectively preparing students for setting and accomplishing vocational goals.

In addition, the ABU (Adaptive Behavior Unit) concentrates on providing a self-contained learning atmosphere focusing on social emotional instruction in a goal-oriented fashion. This initiative is specifically for students with conduct issues that hamper their ability to learn in conventional settings.

“This program is my heart’s work. It aligns with my experiences in residential group homes for the intellectually disabled.”

Furthermore, her educator experience comes into sharper focus at Kilgore College Adult Education & Literacy program. Adams was once an adjunct instructor. She climbed the ladder of accomplishment, became orientation leader, distance learning coordinator and, finally, student success coordinator.

“Helping students learn how to believe in themselves to reach their full potential is my greatest reward,” she says. There is still more.

Adams is a student-focus educator; hence she founded Adams Academia, (AA). AA enables students in need of facilities to remotely complete their test.

“After making varied suggestions for the students with little success, an urgency to provide the space propelled me to take action,” Adams says. She worked diligently with Longview Dream Center to finalize AA goals which is becoming a certified testing center for east Texas.

Adams’ successes are based on her strong faith in Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior. Her favorite bible verse is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” During the day, she is a school principal. In the evenings, she teaches at KC while managing Adams’ Academia in tandem. Her time management is second to none.

“The school day as Principal Adams begins around 7:00 a.m. with a daily memo to my PACE team,” she says. “The memo is full of vital information to keep everyone on track and always sent with a motivational message based on being strong.”

Her students begin arriving at 7:30 am for another day of instruction and learning. She even finds time for meetings and conferences with students, parents, her staff, district officials and assorted community organizations. Her proactive approach to these and her endless additional tasks ensures the campus runs smoothly, effectively, and peacefully.

She is masterful at breaking down barriers and building relationships that would otherwise hamper progress. Collaborating with a highly competent faculty and administrative staff enables her to realize goals and give a sense of accomplishment to both students and instructors. She sometimes does not get finished until after 10:00 p.m. For this reason, she cherishes her time off to rest.

“It is absolutely imperative that I engage in self-care and ensure that my body, mind and soul are rested and rejuvenated as often as possible,” she says. “I enjoy solitude more than socializing, and love pampering myself with ‘me’ time.”

According to Adams, in 1994 a minister looked at her and declared, “I see nothing but children all around your feet.” Sure enough, even though at that time she had not yet set her sights on education. It was not until after she encountered what she called, “several youth serving entities” she perceived her passion for teaching young minds.

Her motto became, “Heal the hearts of the children so they don’t become hurtful adults.” She embraced the two-fold philosophy of (1) Teach and empower children to be independent. (2) Teach adults how to care for children.”

She has let nothing stand in the way of her mission…not even COVID. As schools joined with numerous public operations and closed, they shifted to online work. While administrator on duty for a girls’ soccer game she learned at a staff meeting during spring break 2020 that her school was being temporarily closed due to the pandemic. It did not re-open until the beginning of the following school year. In 2020, even the prom and graduation were postponed until later in the summer. For her and her family this
development was personal and significant.

“My youngest son was a senior in 2020 and this greatly impacted his experiences for the remainder of his school career,” she says. “We finished the school year with virtual learning.”

The PACE campus did a great job using online services as an alternative to classrooms, thus making the transition much easier for students. Using computers also facilitated communication between teachers, students, and parents. By the time classrooms re-opened in August 2020, the online resource was firmly entrenched as the standard for teachers, providing instructional material to their home campus students.

Some of the subsequent precautions like disinfecting computers and using hand sanitizer have gone a long way in establishing a healthy environment for learning. Expanding the use of computer technology has made teacher/student/parent interaction more efficient and goal effective. Even so, not all students had home access to the computers they needed to learn from and communicate with their instructors.
Despite the inevitable hurdles, Adams’ Academia is bustling with successful activity, especially since she became Dr. Adams.

“The reason I went to doctoral program was to learn how to establish community work which collaborates with others in the effort to bring forth social change,” she says.

Adams’ Academia melds into one overriding role the motives she seeks to achieve through her talents and overall abilities she has sharpened and used throughout her outstanding career. Besides, she is able to serve the greater community that encircles (and depends on) the vital scholastic system.

“The most important way the community can support Adams’ Academia is by simply asking for services,” she says