Adrian Thorpe Harrold Wood is an American writer and educator. Wood worked as a community college

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

specialist and a researcher for

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

-inclusive

prekindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool o ...

programs prior to writing her blog, ''Tales of an Educated Debutante''.

Early life and education

Wood was born and raised in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

. She is the daughter of Dr. Dennis Blair Harrold and was raised in the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

faith. She had an older brother, Adam Russell Harrold, who died from cancer when he was nineteen. Wood was educated at

Rocky Mount Academy Rocky Mount Academy is a private school in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States. It serves 409 students in grades PK–12. History Rocky Mount Academy was founded in 1968 as a segregation academy. In 1975, the ''New York Times'' report ...

until high school, when she attended

Salem Academy Salem Academy is a boarding and day school for high school girls in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It shares its campus with Salem College, located near historic Old Salem. Salem Academy is the oldest private school in North Carolina, and the 4th- ...

, an all-girls Moravian boarding school in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, graduating in 1993. She studied Child Development at

Meredith College Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school in Raleigh, North Carolina. As of 2021 Meredith enrolls approximately 1,500 women in its undergraduate programs and 300 men and women in its graduate pr ...

and received a master's degree in Education and Early Intervention with a specialty in Inclusion from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. She was awarded a full scholarship and research assistantship with the Howard Hughes Foundation while working towards a doctoral degree in Educational Research and Policy Analysis at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. In 1994, while a student at Meredith College, Wood was presented to

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

at the

North Carolina Debutante Ball The North Carolina Debutante Ball, also known as the Terpsichorean Society Debutante Ball, is an annual debutante ball held in Raleigh, North Carolina. The ball, hosted by the Terpsichorean Club of Raleigh, is the oldest and most prestigious debu ...

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

Career

While an undergraduate student at Meredith College, Wood worked as a teaching assistant in various preschools in Raleigh, including a semester at the Waldorf Early School. After graduating from college, she worked as a preschool teacher at an inclusive preschool program, as a children's ski instructor in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

, and as a nanny for the child of

John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer ...

. As a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wood worked as an early intervention assistant in

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

and as a student teacher at an inclusive

Head Start program Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. The program's s ...

. As a doctoral student, she taught undergraduate teaching fellows at North Carolina State University, worked in the office of the Provost, and worked as an evaluator with the Wake County Grants Department. Upon completing her doctorate in education Wood worked with

Frank Porter Graham Frank Porter Graham (October 14, 1886 – February 16, 1972) was an American educator and political activist. A professor of history, he was elected President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1930, and he later became the firs ...

Child Development Institute in

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

as a research assistant and program evaluator, working on community college curriculum and gathering data for prekindergarten programs in New York and California. In 2016 Wood began writing the blog ''Tales of an Educated Debutante'' after a twenty-year hiatus from work. On her blog she writes about education, public policy issues, life in North Carolina, motherhood, and raising a child with special needs. She was a guest speaker at the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

of Raleigh's general membership meeting, where she spoke on mental health. In 2017 Wood was a guest speaker at a fundraiser for Fans of Friendship House at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville.

Personal life

Wood married Thomas Benbury Paxton Wood, an attorney from Raleigh, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

Edenton, North Carolina Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

on October 5, 2002. They have three sons and one daughter. One of her sons has special needs. Wood and her family live in the

Edenton Historic District Edenton Historic District is a national historic district located at Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 342 contributing buildings, 4 contributing sites, and 3 contributing structures. It includes several building ...

and are parishioners at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Their home, the Joseph Hewes House, was built in 1756 and the property was once owned by

Joseph Hewes Joseph Hewes (July 9, 1730– November 10, 1779) was an American Founding Father, a signer of the Continental Association and U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he was born in 1730. Hewes's parents were ...

, a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

. Wood converted to Anglicanism from Presbyterianism when she was forty-one. She serves as the

Parent Teacher Association A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

president at her children's public elementary school. In April 2020 Wood voiced support of North Carolina Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

for closing schools due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of North Carolina on March 3, 2020. As of May 2021, North Carolina has the 10th highest number of confirmed cases in the United States. , 69% of the adult population in North Ca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Adrian H. Living people 20th-century American educators American debutantes American women bloggers American bloggers Academics from North Carolina Converts to Anglicanism from Presbyterianism Episcopalians from North Carolina Educators from North Carolina Meredith College alumni North Carolina State University alumni People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina Salem Academy alumni Special educators University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni 20th-century American women educators Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women