Mary Towe

Mary Towe knows she has touched thousands of lives as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools counselor. She is the Charlotte Post Foundation Educator of the Year. Towe believes in meeting students “where they are” to support their growth, she says. “What’s at the core for young people – and all people in general – is that you understand you have value, you are important and you’re significant.”

A genuine champion for high school students and their prospects for success is how Gerald Johnson, president of The Charlotte Post Foundation and publisher of The Charlotte Post Publishing Company, describes Towe. “There is no better candidate for our top educator recognition than Mary Towe,” he adds. The Foundation will honor Towe at its Post Best Banquet on October 3. Growing up in Plymouth near North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound, Towe’s mother Julia Towe taught third grade and her father Edison Towe was a high school science teacher. Towe and her two brothers were expected to get advanced degrees, and they did. 

Except for one year, Towe has served CMS since 1985, fresh out of East Carolina University with a master’s in Counselor Education. She’d previously earned a bachelor’s from UNC-Chapel Hill in Psychology. Her year away was in Atlanta as program manager at the Ronald McNair Foundation, named for the Challenger astronaut. She coordinated space camps, a speakers’ bureau and student activities.

“I think the strengths and gifts I have include being able to look at a project and break it apart into smaller phases and see what needs to be done,” Towe says.

Probably no one else in CMS has helped open more high schools than the four she counts. She helped start Providence, Ardrey Kell and Hough. The fourth, from which she retired, was the Charlotte Engineering Early College which partners with UNC Charlotte. She was director of Student Wellness and Academic Support and calls it her best position.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to work with school teams to make sure they have the content they need,” she says. “I was trying to put all the disciplines together for the benefit of students.”

The ultimate professional is how Dr. Terri Cockerham describes Towe. A retired CMS Chief Human Resources Officer and former principal, Cockerham worked with Towe at Providence and Hough.

“The biggest thing is Mary loved her kids,” Cockerham says. “She loved the people she worked with. Everybody at CMS knew Mary and respected her.” Though she retired from CMS as director of Student Wellness and Academic Support in 2021, Towe still supports the district’s counseling program part time at selected sites. High school students need a trusted adult to remind them they have value and can achieve goals, she says. The key, she adds, is listening to them and convincing them she wants to help with tough problems.

Towe admits she presses students of color “really hard” and that’s especially true for young men. “There are times that I push them a little bit harder.” Antawn Jamison played basketball at Providence High and at UNC-Chapel Hill, then performed in the National Basketball Association for 16 seasons. Semi-retired and back in Charlotte, he remembers how Towe counseled him before he graduated in 1995.

“Miss Towe is one of the nicest individuals you will ever want to meet,” Jamison says, “but when it comes to education, she didn’t play around. She did the best job possible of not crushing my dreams, but letting me know I needed a backup plan in case I get hurt or even if I did make it in basketball. So get an education.” Tar Heels basketball coach Dean Smith reinforced that advice, as did Jamison’s parents, Kathy and Albert Jamison, who now reside in Waxhaw. Jamison earned a degree in African American Studies and Communication. He and Towe remain close.

“He’s a better person than he is a basketball player,” Towe says of Jamison. “She’s the main reason I am the person I am today,” counters Jamison. “She pushed me. I’m blessed to still have her in my corner.”

Towe refers to Karen Thomas as her mentor. A retired executive director of Student Services for CMS, Thomas worked with Towe for about 20 years. “Mary has a heart for children and what’s best for students,” Thomas says. “She has that compassionate side, but she’s also very logical, very smart and always focused on the right way.” Towe also earned a master’s of Divinity and an Urban Ministry Certificate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. She is an elder at Temple Church International, responsible for Christian Education and new member integration. 

“I don’t want to get stagnant,” she says. “With the Lord’s help, I want to continue to grow. There are places of impact that God still has for me.”