Travis Turley:  Making a Difference at Eastern Middle

Travis Turley is living his dream. Every day he gets to teach and coach young minds. “I always knew that my past, present and future would revolve around sports,” said Turley, a P.E. teacher and coach at Eastern Middle. “In high school, I realized that the best way for me to be surrounded by sports would be through teaching.”

Turley credits his high school teacher and coach, Duncan Moore, with playing a large part in his career choice. The decision was solidified in college by another teacher, Kevin Carter. After high school, Turley attended his hometown’s community college in Elizabeth City to get a small taste of university life before making the ultimate commitment. He later graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he made lifelong friendships, figured out the fundamentals of teaching P. E. and met the woman of his dreams.

After graduation he heard about a P.E. position at Eastern Middle. He applied and got the jobs as head football coach and boys track coach. Turley is passionate about P.E. and the reasons that it appeals to him. “I always enjoyed the wide openness of the gym, the ability to let out all of your built up anxiety and emotions, the competitiveness and of course, the basketball games - it’s a North Carolina thing,” smiles Turley. “Now I have a chance to try and instill these same passions into my students and along the way develop them into positive, healthy living, physically active, productive, responsible and polite citizens in today’s society.  I am using P.E. to help these kids grow up.”

Rapping to educational lyrics is a Turley strategy.

Turley’s teaching strategies center on the individual student’s ability to work well with others. He also creates strategies for new challenges. One strategy involves taking the basic skills necessary for a particular sport and using them in other closely related activities or totally opposite ones. “The teacher’s enthusiasm has so much to do with the excitement level of each student,” explained Turley.

One of his techniques includes using hip-hop music with educational lyrics to motivate students to study for End-of-Grade testing. “I would love to motivate them to understand how important the tests really are,” said Turley. “If I can demonstrate the fun side of every sport or activity, then my students will be led to success that ultimately opens the door for application of learned skills.” He plans to produce hip-hop songs for sports teams at EMS and for his wife’s jump rope team at Brightwood Elementary.

Turley believes in using progression in his education. “Progression is the greatest tool in teaching, and sports are no different,” said Turley. According to Turley, the key is to introduce the basics at a young age and continue each year to add different strategies to build on what students have learned.

Lastly, he teaches that the emphasis on sports should not be on winning, but rather the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of a sport and develop the intensity that is necessary to be successful in middle school.

Coach Turley practices ball tosses with a volleyball unit.

Coworker Stephanie Leddon admires Turley’s teaching methods. “Travis is one of the most exciting people I have ever worked beside,” said Leddon. “He is an extremely motivational coach and dedicated to his students. Travis has well-planned lessons using tons of creativity.”

Turley’s challenges are the same as other teachers: being able to relate to students, concern for student safety and well-being, being a role model, as well as making education interesting and fun. He keeps his skills fresh by sharing ideas with colleagues and his wife, who is also a GCS P.E. teacher and by attending professional development classes. If all else fails, he improves on old methodologies by applying his own innovative teaching methods, also known as the “Turley Twist.”

“My goals for the future are to continue teaching and coaching, obtaining my national board certification and getting a master’s degree,” said Turley. “I want to be a better teacher for my students and a good provider for my children.”  

He sums it up with a smile. “I am in my fifth year teaching at EMS, and it has been wonderful.  My first years were very tough, but they taught me that experience is the best teacher, and the deeper I get into this profession the easier it gets, and the closer I get to reaching the goals that young boy made so many years ago.”

Travis and football team in huddle.

Do you know GCS employees that should be spotlighted for their efforts on and off the job? Contact Lynne Brandon at 370-8353 or brandol@gcsnc.com to share their stories.