After graduating from the University, Curtis promptly began her career in education as a first-grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Tuscaloosa. While teaching at Central, she also earned her M.A. from UA and was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi International Honorary and Kappa Delta Epsilon.

After completing her master’s degree, Curtis moved to Phenix City, Alabama, and taught elementary school students for another year then was promoted to principal. After moving to teach in New Orleans, Curtis came back to Tuscaloosa in 1976, where she began working for Shelton State Community College as a reading instructor. Eventually, she moved her career to Verner Elementary School. 

In 1986, Curtis began working as a second-grade teacher at Verner Elementary. By 1990, she was assistant principal then became principal of Verner just two years later. Under her leadership, Verner Elementary rose as a top-level school within the Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS) system and the state. As a result, Curtis was named PTA Principal of the Year as well as a distinguished principal among her peers. The school also was awarded several grants for schoolwide initiatives during this time.

The governor of Alabama knew of Curtis’ laser focus on literacy as a principal, leading to Verner being chosen in 1998 as one of the pilot schools for a new program called the Alabama Reading Initiative. The pilot program proved so successful that it was expanded gradually throughout the state and is consistently ranked as the No. 1 reading program in the U.S. Like all truly great leaders, Curtis remained focused on her first priority, literacy, and identified a variation of that focus as the theme for each new year. As a consequence, Verner consistently ranked high in virtually every measure of school success under her leadership.

Curtis believed parent involvement to be a major factor in school success, ensuring that her teachers communicated with the parents of every student at least once on a weekly basis. Verner’s PTA attendance was standing-room-only, and parent support and participation in activities was the envy of other schools. Verner’s reputation under her leadership was so highly regarded that five local companies signed on as Adopt-A-School partners, providing financial and volunteer resources to enhance the school’s learning environment.

After 28 years at Verner Elementary, Curtis retired in 2019 and went on to become the director of the TCS Future Leaders Instructional Academy. She continues to also serve as a substitute for Tuscaloosa City principals and conducts exit interviews for TCS Human Resources. In 2021, Verner Elementary named its library in honor of Curtis, cementing her legacy as principal and a beloved leader.

Curtis remains committed to her profession and her community. She has been a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals as well as the state chapter since 1990. She is also a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the International Reading Association. At the local level, Curtis is a member of Leadership Tuscaloosa, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and the Alabama Renaissance Technology Academy. She serves on several committees for the Tuscaloosa City Schools, including the institute, discipline, textbook, public relations, math curriculum guide, and the teacher evaluation committees. She is also a participant in the Tuscaloosa City Schools Instructional Leadership Association.

Curtis is dedicated to her community and its needs as well. She is a member of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce Adopt-A-School Steering Committee, the Junior League, and the Mortar Board Alumnae Association. She has been a board member of the Children’s Theatre of Tuscaloosa and the Parents’ Association of The University of Alabama. Her community service also includes the Tuscaloosa Preservation Society, Tuscaloosa ARC, the Heart Association and Cancer Society, the Leukemia Society, and March of Dimes as well as the community soup kitchen, the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter, and the West Alabama Food Bank.