MADISON COUNTY – Thomasena Garner at Liberty Middle School has been selected as Science Specialist/Grant Administrator for Madison City Schools.

The position was created with funding from to a $1 million Department of Defense Education Administration grant.

Currently at Liberty, Garner teaches science and the “Medical Detectives” course in the Project Lead the Way curriculum. In her new role, Garner will work to help strengthen and expand science instruction in Madison schools.

Garner’s area of focus will be grades 4-10 as she works closely in all MCS schools with teachers, instructional partners and others. She will also assist with school district DoDEA grants, MCS Public Relations Manager John S. Peck said.

“This is like my dream job. I can’t wait to get started,” Garner said after Madison Board of Education approved her hiring. Garner will join the district’s instructional team at Central Office.

Chief Academic Officer Dr. Heather Donaldson said the district is excited to have someone of Garner’s background – including her strong instructional leadership and passion for teaching.

Hailing from a family of educators, Garner is a 2001 graduate of Lee High School in Huntsville. Her first teaching assignment was Buckhorn High School.

Garner holds bachelor and master’s degrees with a concentration in biology from Alabama A&M University. She earned an educational specialist degree in administration and supervision from Middle Tennessee State University.

Currently, Garner is pursuing her doctorate degree in educational leadership from Samford University.

Garner has taught for 10 years at Liberty. In recent months, she initiated a new classroom approach “to make writing (and reading) in science as natural as in English/language arts or social science,” she said in a previous interview. As the year progressed, Garner’s students were more at ease and began to understand writing’s importance in all subjects, especially STEM or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Garner has served on several instructional committees and as athletic director and cheerleading and dance team coach at Liberty. She was named “Teacher of the Year” for Liberty in 2015-2016 and “MCS Secondary Teacher of the Year” for 2016-2017.

Garner has been named to the Hall of Fame at Jacksonsville State University. Another honor for her was selection as North Alabama’s Secondary Teacher of the Year for District 8 in 2017-2018.