Meet Dr. Terrance Scott | Education Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Terrance Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Terrance, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from the West Side of Detroit. My grandparents raised my mom and her siblings in a home off Plymouth and Hubbell Street, and my mom and aunt later bought houses within a block away. My sister, cousins and I attended the same elementary school as our parents and even had some of the same teachers. That notion, combined with growing up in church, taught me a lot of community and the value of having a village. I am the man I am today because of the village that helped my single mom raise my sister and I.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In 2010, during my junior year at The University of Michigan, I had the life-changing opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy. While there, I volunteered in a 4th grade class teaching ESL, and it was here that I fell in love with kids, questioned the American education system, and decided to pursue a career in justice work. I joined Teach for America in 2012 and moved to Nashville, TN to begin my career as a teacher. I remained in the classroom for six years, obtaining my Masters and Doctorate degrees in Education along the way. My wife and I decided to move back home to Detroit to be closer to family after our son was born. Since being home, I have served as an Assistant Principal, Principal, Director of a nonprofit education program called SMASH, and now full time education consultant, first with Detroit Public Schools Community District and currently with Wayne RESA. I specialize in supporting schools improve their Climate and Culture as well as DEI.

My journey has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. I am typically one of a few African American male educators in the spaces I work, and also one of the youngest. I obtained my Doctorate to establish credibility, ground my beliefs in research to support what I teach others, and because frankly there are so few of us, I wanted to be an inspiration to my family and my community. Why not me? Why not our kids? Why not us? Why not now? These are questions I live by because I believe in the collective genius and fortitude both in my ancestry and in my bloodline.

I came to understand early in my career there is a lot of nuance with teaching that affects how students learn and experience school. I watched colleagues with deficit mindsets and implicit biases against kids act surprised when their test scores were low or their classes didn’t behave. Again, as one of few Black males in the building, I was often the resident disciplinarian as well, with teachers sending their students to me when they needed a break from them or when the child misbehaved. I combined what I learned from being trained in Restorative Practices and from literature like Gloria Larson Billings’s “The Dreamkeepers” and Beverly Tatum’s “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria” and more to hone my philosophy, leadership style and approach to teaching. I believe students deserved to relate to the curriculum in front of them, in a concept called Culturally Responsive Teaching (which was the basis of my dissertation), be engaged, and experience joy and laughter in positive relationship with their teacher. This made me a popular teacher amongst my students but sometimes unpopular amongst colleagues, so I bounced around a bit and admittedly have never felt at home anywhere I have worked. I am staunch advocate justice-oriented education, which includes teaching the truth about history as a Social Studies teacher. My students always excelled under my tutelage, unaware of the struggles I faced navigating the South as a Detroiter, and then as a young leader amongst veterans. I have remained steadfast in my pursuit of excellence and equity, but it has been quite the journey! Among the many lessons I have learned in my now 12 years of education, I have learned to stay true to myself and remain humble, the data doesn’t lie, and kindness is free!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Detroit is one of the most beautiful cities in America that is full of culture and hidden gems.

Places to visit: Belle Isle, the Heidelberg Project, take pics with local murals, a concert at the Fox Theater or Little Caesars Arena, a Lions game at Ford Field, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit, Saturday morning at Eastern Market (or the night market on a Thursday), the Featherstone Garden, the Riverwalk, Campus Martius, the Avenue of Fashion on Livernois, Greektown, and take your pick of one of the casinos.

Restaurants: Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, Savannah Blue, Prime and Proper, Lumen, Parc, Bakersfield, The Block, Detroit 75 Kitchen, Buddy’s Pizza, Mootz Pizzaria, Hudson Cafe, Ima, La Feria, Pizza Papalis, Ottava Via, Mad Nice, District 78, The Highlands, Fishbones, Central Kitchen

Local Gems: (virtually any) Coney Island but I prefer L. George’s and Grandys, Green Dot Stables, The Whitney, Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine, Fixins Soul Kitchen, Detroit Shipping Company, Baobab Fare

Bars/Vibes: Floods, Cliff Bells, Motor City Wine, They Say, Bad Luck Bar, Cafe D’Mongos Speakeasy

This is just top of mind! I know there’s more! Give me a week in the D and I promise I’ll show you a good time!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this to my wife, Faith, and my son, Tristan, because all I do and all I am is because of and in service of them. I love you both! Shoutout to my friends and family for keeping me grounded and humble. And shoutout to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me for inspiring the path I’m on today.

Instagram: @doctjscott

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Twitter: @doctjscott

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