With his master’s in educational leadership and doctorate in leadership from Trevecca, Dr. Jared Myracle moved from a role as a local educator to executive director of literacy for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, one of the largest school districts in Tennessee and the 20th largest in the country.
After completing his master’s with a group of educators in one of Trevecca’s satellite locations, he knew he had to go further and immediately began his doctorate for the sake of his career and fulfilling his personal goals.
"The ink wasn’t dry on the master’s degree when we came for orientation for cohort 12 of the doctoral program in 2009," Myracle said. “I'm a first-generation college graduate, and completing my terminal degree was always something that I wanted to do.”
By 2012, Myracle had not only completed his doctoral studies but also embarked on a new chapter in his professional career. After spending years as a teacher and assistant principal, he became supervisor of instruction for the Gibson County Special School District. By 2015, he was assistant director of schools for McNairy County.
As he continued to advance in his career, he was able to integrate his learning from the Ed.D., especially his dissertation, titled "Diagnosing Senioritis." It explored the impact of the perception of college readiness on high school seniors’ motivation. His research revealed that students’ perceived readiness for college often led to a decline in their academic performance during their senior year—a finding that has influenced his approach to education and student engagement.
“I found out that the more we tell students they're ready for college as 11th grade students, particularly based on the ACT score, the less likely they are to voluntarily take additional academic coursework,” Myracle said. “It influenced the way I communicate about what college and career readiness is. Not making it a definitive thing, but encouraging them to be in a place where they are more ready and should pursue as many preparatory courses as possible.”
His ability to look at the big picture helped him continue to advance, and after serving as senior director of ELA, literacy and humanities for the Tennessee Department of Education, he started his new position as literacy director for the Memphis-Shelby County school system.
“The real work in my position is answering the question, ‘how do we give teachers the resources they need to make an increase in literacy happen while leveraging high impact instructional strategies to pair alongside that content?” Myracle said. “I make this happen with regular school visits, instructional coaching, leadership coaching and just ensuring that people have what they need to support our students and be successful.”
In a county the size of Shelby, he has had to use all of his expertise to meet the demand and has been able to pull key areas of learning from his degrees.
“The school system is very large, so just making sure that the structure of support is reaching all teachers and principals–and that the effects are seen in every classroom–can be challenging,” Myracle said. “I still refer to my coursework and research around change management, working alongside people from diverse backgrounds and how we bring together diverse perspectives.”
In his progression from a first-generation college graduate to the director of literacy for one of the largest school districts in the nation, Myracle personifies the practical power of higher education to impact real challenges that school districts face today.