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Tygima Steele, Principal, Rocketship United Academy

Tygima was the very first teacher hired at United Academy and was a critical founding member in 2015. In that same year, she rose from an Integrated Special Education teacher to a Teacher on Special Assignment. In 2016, she was promoted into school leadership as an Assistant Principal, and she quickly worked her way up to Principal by fall 2018. Tygima is a Nashville native who has worked in education for fifteen years, eight of which were spent in Memphis as a special education teacher, Team Lead, Athletic Director, and Department Chair at a Title 1 school. She completed her graduate and undergraduate studies at the University of Memphis, received an administrative degree from Christian Brothers University and was an Emerging Leader participant of New Leaders for New Schools, a highly-regarded non-profit school leadership training organization. Most recently, Tygima was an Administrator of the Year finalist with TN Charter School Center for the 2020-2021 school year.