Dr. Tenette Smith currently serves as the Executive Director of the Office of Elementary Education and Reading with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). With over 30 years in education, her experience she has served as the Assistant State K-3 Literacy Director (MDE), an elementary school administrator, curriculum specialist, kindergarten teacher, first grade teacher and a field coordinator for an NSF funded Delta Rural Systemic Initiative (Math and Science). Dr. Smith began her professional career as the Director of the Loje B. Thornton Early Childhood Center at Jackson State University. She received a Doctor of Early Childhood Education, Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Bachelor of Science in Education from Jackson State University.
Dr. Smith has presented research and conducted professional development on local, state, and the national level including the NCTM National Conference and the Urban Education National Conference. She has received professional training via the Council for Chief School Officers (CCSSO), Consortium on Reading Excellence (C.O.R.E.), the Zaentz Professional Learning Academy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Language Essential for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) and the Systemic Change Leadership (EDC).