Dr. Yvette Stewart
Dr. Yvette Stewart has been named assistant professor and literacy director for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s School of Education and the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education.
Stewart, who has worked for Hamilton County Schools since 2018, will begin her new role at UTC on Oct. 21. She will jointly lead School of Education and Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education initiatives aimed at equipping educators with the skills to effectively teach children how to read.
“I will be the biggest cheerleader for teaching children how to read; it’s an important component of the educational experience for a child,” said Stewart, who has worked in public education for 28 years. “In this role, I will bring various advocates of education and organizations—specifically school districts—to the table to form a common understanding of how to do that and how to work together to provide that support for students in classrooms.
“Literacy opens up opportunities. If you’re literate, you have access to and ownership of your future.”
As the director of elementary teaching and learning and K-12 literacy for Hamilton County Schools, Stewart has been responsible for enhancing the effectiveness and fidelity of the literacy curriculum across grades K-12.
“I want to congratulate Dr. Yvette Stewart on her new position at UTC,” said Dr. Justin Robertson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. “Dr. Stewart has been an integral part of the district’s early literacy work, and I am grateful for opportunities to collaborate with her and UTC. I look forward to continuing our alignment of early literacy best practices and better preparing upcoming educators to serve our students in Hamilton County Schools.”
Dr. Allen Pratt, interim director of the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education, called the hiring of Stewart “a major collaborative effort with Hamilton County Schools. They know she’s always going to be available to help them out.”
“Bringing Dr. Stewart to campus gives us someone with the credentials and expertise to help guide the University and literacy work, but also help our community and surrounding areas on how to be the best possible instructor of literacy and put us on the cutting edge of what is needed to become the best,” Pratt said.
A North Carolina native, Stewart holds four degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, including a bachelor’s in elementary education, a master’s in school administration, and both an Ed.S. and Ed.D. in educational leadership.
Stewart began her professional career in 1996 as a kindergarten teacher with Durham Public Schools in North Carolina. Over the next 13 years, she held various roles in the Durham and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school systems, including elementary teacher, assistant principal at both the elementary and middle school levels, and principal.
Prior to coming to Chattanooga in 2018, she spent 10 years with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as a project coordinator and assistant director for the Educator Effectiveness Division.
Dr. Kim Wingate, director of the UTC School of Education, emphasized the importance of Dr. Stewart’s addition to the University and her wide-ranging experience.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Stewart join us at UTC,” Wingate said. “Her extensive background, particularly her leadership at both the district and state level, brings immense value.
“Dr. Stewart’s expertise will be instrumental in furthering our continued collaboration with Hamilton County Schools, but also positions the School of Education at the forefront of literacy development. Her innovative thinking and insights from K-12 education and beyond will help us shape the future of literacy instruction for years to come.”
In her new role at UTC, Stewart will be involved in helping future teachers learn how to teach literacy.
“That’s probably going to be the most fun part of my job because it’s in the lens of my background as a teacher and the experience that I have had leading district-level work,” Stewart said. “I can give prospective teachers firsthand experience or early exposure to students, and I hope to use my relationships with Hamilton County Schools to really support new teachers as they prepare for the classroom.”
In addition to her K-12 background, Stewart has previous higher education experience as an adjunct professor for the University of Phoenix and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
