Helen Frye Harkleroad is a native of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. She was a 1976 graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University, in Athens, TN with a bachelor's degree in Teaching. She went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN with a Masters in Early Childhood Education. She taught first grade and kindergarten for a combined 25 years. She spent 17 of these years at Northside Elementary in Athens, TN.