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Schultz\u2019s love for education didn\u2019t begin nor end at the classroom door. She wanted to support teachers and students on a larger scale, which eventually led her to become a principal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a teacher, she wanted to promote a positive and inclusive learning environment and carried that same vision forward as a principal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She provided teachers with the resources, encouragement, and professional development they needed to do their best work because she believed \u201ca thriving school starts with motivated and valued educators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her time as a principal was one of the most fulfilling seasons of her career. It came with challenges \u2014 managing crises and meeting diverse student needs \u2014 but also triumphs, like implementing successful programs and building high team morale. She embraced every moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Schultz retired, she joined the Franklin County School Board, which allowed her to stay connected to her forever passion: education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I retired, I realized I was not ready to leave education behind. Serving on the school board allowed me to collaborate with educators, administrators, and families to address our schools\u2019 challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ideas of equity, student achievement, and safety inspire everything she advocates for on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll students should have access to quality education regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or abilities,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to prepare our students for life beyond school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even outside traditional school settings, Schultz continues to fan the educational flame. She has taught inmates at the Franklin County Jail for the past two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the jail, she helped many women who had never completed high school learn multiplication tables, improve their attitudes toward education, and avoid trouble attending their daily classes. Several of them earned their high school diplomas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor many inmates, earning a high school diploma is their first significant educational achievement. This kind of milestone gives them confidence, a sense of accomplishment, and the mindset that they can improve their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schultz hopes to be remembered as someone who led with love \u2014 for people and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to be remembered as an educator who wanted the best for her students and always believed education could change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, the most meaningful roads take us on unexpected detours. When we open ourselves to new opportunities, they can take us places we never imagined. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SANDY SCHULTZ sat in her first-year nursing class at Middle Tennessee State University. Heavy textbooks rested in her lap.. She stared at human anatomy diagrams, feeling disconnected, as if they belonged to someone else\u2019s story. Her mother was a nurse, and she\u2019d always assumed she\u2019d follow suit, but something felt off. The material interested her, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/franklin-county\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Story-1-photo1-1-1-1024x683.jpg\")