Ella Smith

 Educator, Mother, Wife, Sister, Daughter, and DeKalb County Stakeholder

  Educator

Ella has been involved in the educational process her whole life.  Since the age of five, she has been either a student or a teacher. She graduated from Estill County High School in Irvine, Kentucky in 1973 and then attended Eastern Kentucky University and received a BS in Health and Physical Education with a coaching endorsement in 1979.  She then attended the University of North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia State, and Gulf Coast Community College where she became certified in Biology, Specific Learning Disabilities, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Mild Intellectual Disabilities, and Interrelated Special Education.  In 2006, she received her Masters Degree in Curriculum-with emphasis in Adult Learning, from Central Michigan University at the Atlanta, Georgia Campus. She is currently working on her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Argosy University.  Ella just receieved her specialist degree in Administration and Leadership in the summer of 2010.  Her focus for the past 30 years has been as a teacher in the field of Special Education and Health and Physical Education.  However, she has also been involved as a coach of soccer, swimming, cheerleading and once as a football coach.

 Ella is the mother of four children and two grandchildren. 

 Children

La’La Westall, Columbia, S.C. 

Lance Oliver, Atlanta, Ga. 

R. J. Holston, III, Atlanta, Ga. 

Austin Smith, Atlanta, Ga. 

 Grandchildren

 Haley Westall 

Tyler Westall 

Husband

Ella is married to Merck Kelly Smith who graduated from Emory University with a degree in math and Georgia State University with a law degree.  He currently is the owner of Brightline Media.  Merck is the son of Judge Jack B. Smith (former Senior State Court Judge in DeKalb County) and Inge Smith (former German teacher) of Decatur, Georgia. Merck also a select soccer coach. The U16 GSA Team he was the volunteer coach of and my son is on, won state this year. In other words he was the assistant coach. Next year he will be this team’s head coach as the team travels for regional play. Merck also volunteers as a trainer for the Lakeside High School Varsity Boy's Team where he played soccer in high school.

 Daughter

 Ella is the daughter of the late Jessie A. Abney and Mary Clay Alexander-Abney of Irvine, Kentucky

Siblings

Joe Abney, Richmond, Kentucky 

Terrie Abney Tate, Irvine, Kentucky 

John Abney, Warms Springs, Georgia

 Rebecca Abney Click, Irvine Kentucky