Betts Moreland McGinnis, 59: Specialized in special education
Betts McGinnis had a way with special education students. She was tenacious, patient and possessed the ability to find good in even her most demanding charges.
"She turned a lot of kids around," said Dr. Bill Edwards, a retired principal of DeKalb's Miller Grove Middle School. "She'd find that good that, a lot of times, others couldn't see, and many times she was successful."
All of Mrs. McGinnis' education career was spent in the DeKalb County Schools system. She was a special education instructor, countywide supervisor and eventually a campus administrator. She was the first principal at Henderson Middle School, a former high school.
"She was very involved in its transition to a middle school," said Carroll Nordan, an administrative assistant at Henderson. "She poured her life and nurturing skills into children, especially any that were struggling. When she became principal, she didn't have as much one-on-one with students, but she kept that nurturing way about her."
On Thursday, Betts Moreland McGinnis died from complications of liver failure at her home in Johns Creek. She was 59. A memorial service has been held; Roswell Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. McGinnis taught in the public school system that educated her. She attended Briarlake Elementary and was a 1968 graduate of Tucker High. She earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree in special education and a six-year specialist degree in administration from Georgia State.
She taught at Montgomery Elementary in north DeKalb and the Jim Cherry School, now a district teaching center. She then became a supervisor, responsible for overseeing and mentoring special education instructors.
In 1989, the educator became an assistant principal at Decatur's Miller Grove Middle School, under Dr. Edwards.
"She was a fierce defender of young people," he said. "She loved to take on challenging students and would work with parents and other teachers. She was good at it."
In 1996, she was assigned to Henderson as the campus switched from a high school to middle school campus. Jack L. McGinnis, her husband of 25 years, said the six or so years Mrs. McGinnis spent at Henderson Middle were some of her happiest times. She retired in 2003, after a year as an administrator in the district office.
"Henderson was her child," he said. "She liked being on the front line for students, teachers and those parents. She could see whatever was troubling a child, whatever the disability, and bring it out. She was one great educator."
Additional survivors include a brother, Dr. Bion Moreland Jr. of Johns Creek; a stepson, Andy McGinnis of Lake Wales, Fla.; and two granddaughters.
