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Anitra Tarpley was born in
Miami-Dade County, Florida to Eugene and Rosia Smith. She
is the fourth child of six children. During her childhood
her parents were careful to instill in her the importance of
an education and did all that they could to make sure that
she was raised to be respectful, kind responsible, and GOD
fearing.
Mrs. Tarpley is a product of the
Dade-County Public School System. The teachers that she had
throughout her primary education gave her a strong academic
foundation and had a great influence on her future. She
attended Bunche Park Elementary School, Norland Middle
School, and Carol City Senior High where she graduated with
honors. During High School, Anitra was enrolled in the
Criminal Justice Dual Enrollment Magnet Program. This
program allowed High School children to study Criminal
Justice at Miami-Dade Community College while earning
college credits.
After graduating from High
School, Mrs. Tarpley went to Florida Southern College, which
is located in Lakeland, Florida. There she intended to
pursue her education in Criminal Justice and seek a career
in that field. Beginning in her freshman year, she
volunteered in the Helping Children to Discover Literacy
Program, which was a tutoring program to help
underprivileged youth. It was during her senior year
volunteering with this program that one of her students,
Shade, said the magical words that changed the course of her
life, “I wish you were my teacher”. Up until this point,
Mrs. Tarpley had never considered being a teacher. However,
once her student said those words, she knew that teaching
was the career for her. Unfortunately, Mrs. Tarpley was
already in the last semester of her senior year and
desperate to return to her beloved family and hometown. So,
she went on and graduated with honors with a double major in
Criminal Justice and Sociology. Her hopes of becoming a
teacher would be delayed but not forgotten.
Once home, Mrs. Tarpley found
employment with the Department of Children and Family
Services-Division of Economic Self-Sufficiency. She was
responsible for determining eligibility for programs such as
Food Stamps, AFDC, and Medicaid. During this time she also
attended Barry University where she worked toward her
Masters Degree in Pre-K Primary Education. She was enrolled
in the teacher certification program which helped students
with degrees outside of education fulfill certification
requirements while also completing their Master degrees. Soon after graduating, Mrs. Tarpley was hired as a
Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Carol City Elementary. Her
dreams of being a teacher would finally be realized.
The professional and academic
experiences that Anitra has had have helped her to develop
her philosophy of education which is as follows:
In order for one to be truly
fulfilled and self-reliant, one must have a solid
education. Mrs. Tarpley instills the importance of an
education in her students. She encourages them work hard,
do their best, and to dream big dreams. Mrs. Tarpley has
the highest expectations for all of her students and is
confident that they will have successful futures as long as
they stay focused and continue to make their education a
priority.
To date, Mrs. Tarpley has been
with the Carol City Elementary School Family for six years. She taught Pre-Kindergarten for two years and
presently is in her fourth year of teaching Kindergarten. Mrs. Tarpley is always attempting to improve herself so that
she can better meet the needs of her students. Her goal is
not only to help her students meet their current grade level
expectations, but to also prepare them for what they face
further down the line in their elementary journey.
Anitra Smith Tarpley has been
married to her High School sweetheart, Antonio L. Tarpley
for four years. She and her husband are blessed to have one
precious son, Malcolm Eugene Tarpley, who is two years old;
and, they are awaiting the birth of Louis Anthony Tarpley,
who is due in June. With these things in place, Mrs. Tarpley
fills as though her life is complete. She has a career that
she loves, a beautiful family, and a GOD who put everything
in place, protecting and blessing it all. |