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Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
GA educator Maretta Mitchell Taylor served as a community activist and capable politician
Classroom teacher and community activist Maretta Mitchell Taylor served 12 years in Georgia State House of Representatives. Photo credit: CourierNews.org
Many excellent classroom teachers go on to serve as community activists and capable politicians. One of these is Maretta Mitchell Taylor of Georgia.
Maretta was born on Jan. 25, 1935. As a youngster, she was educated in the Muscogee County School System, where she was known to be an excellent student. As a teenager, she attended William Henry Spencer High School, where she graduated in 1953. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Albany State College located in Albany, Georgia, in 1957. She earned her Master’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington.
This amazing educator worked as a teacher and media specialist for 30 years, the last 20 of them spent at her high school alma mater. She retired from teaching in 1987.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Maretta was elected to the Georgia House of representatives on the Democratic tickets. She served in that body from 1990 to 2002. In fact, she was the first African American woman elected to represent Georgia House District 94 (now District 134).
While in the House, Maretta championed public education, youth advocacy, and civic equity. Gov. Roy Barnes appointed her to a special House study panel on the role of information technology in public libraries and technical institutes. She also served as Vice Chair of the House Education Committee and sat on the Committees for Children and Youth; Special Judiciary; and Intergovernmental Coordination. Within the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and Women’s Legislative Caucus, she held key leadership roles, including first as the Secretary and then as the Co-Chair.
She also served as a board member for the YMCA and held leadership roles in more than two dozen civic, social, and philanthropic organizations, including the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Columbus Urban League, and the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NANBPWC), where she served as National Director of Communication.
For her service to the community, Maretta garnered many accolades and honors. She was named one Fifty Most Influential African Americans in Columbus from the A.J. McClung YMCA; the Leadership 2000 Award from the Kellogg Company; the Legacy of Leadership Award; Outstanding Legislator of the Year—2000 from the Professional Association of Georgia Educators; and the Sojourner Truth Award from NANB & PW Clubs, Inc.. She also earned The Rosa Parks Award from Columbus PUSH; Woman of Achievement from Concharity Council of Girl Scouts, Inc.; and Woman of the Year from Columbus Chattahoochee Valley B&PW Clubs) Gracious Ladies of Georgia.
Maretta Mitchell Taylor was certainly a Chalkboard Champion. Sadly, she passed away in Columbus, Georgia, on Feb. 17, 2013. She was 78 years old. She was interred at Green Acres Cemetery.
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Former Spanish teacher Leonora Dodge of Vermont now serves in her state’s Home of Reps
Former Spanish teacher Leonora Dodge, a recipient of a Mellon Fellowship, a Ford grant, and a Fulbright scholarship. has been elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. Photo credit: Leonora Dodge
Many exemplary teachers also make very competent politicians. One of these is Leonora Dodge, a Spanish teacher from Vermont who also serves in the Vermont State House of Representatives.
Leonora was born in the United States to immigrant parents from Ireland and Mexico. She grew up in Montreal and Mexico City.
Lenora earned her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Williams College. She earned her Master’s degree in Latin American History from the University of Texas at Austin. As part of her education, she completed college semesters in Chile and southern Spain, and studied in Guatemala for a month. A talented and hard-working student, Lenora has garnered a Mellon Fellowship, a Ford grant, and a Fulbright scholarship.
Leonora taught Spanish in public schools in the Vermont town of Essex. She also taught at Vermont Commons High School and at Champlain College, and she worked as a classroom para-educator in the Spanish Immersion Elementary program in Jericho Elementary school. Her community service includes running Spanish playgroups, coordinating children’s activities at the annual Burlington Latino Festival, and coaching world championship Odyssey of the Mind teams, Leonora also shares her love of Latinx culture by teaching inclusive and multi-age dance fitness classes and dance events through which she has raised thousands of dollars for local non-profits such as COTS, SD Ireland Cancer Research, and Steps to End Domestic Violence. In addition, Leonora completed volunteer work at HomeShare Vermont, Music Contact International, Justicia Migrante/Migrant Justice, and Essex B.E.S.T. (Building Equity, Solidarity, and Trust.
In 2022, Leonora was elected to thee Vermont House o Representatives on the Democratic ticket. There she represents the community of Chittenden District 23.
As a legislator, Lenora works toward correcting the current work force shortage; the need for high-quality affordable mental health care; ensuring underserved students achieve academic and social success; and balancing environmental sustainability with the need for housing to rent and buy.
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Former teacher Judy Seeberger elected to Minnesota State Senate
Former teacher Judy Seeberger now serves in the Minnesota State Senate. Photo credit: Minnesota State Legislature
Many outstanding educators also become successful politicians. One of these is Judy Seeberger, a former public school teacher from Minnesota who has been elected to serve in the Minnesota State Senate.
Judy was born in Wisconsin on Sept. 3, 1969. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 1991. She earned her Master’s degree in teaching from Hamline University in 2016. She also earned her Juris Doctorate from Boston University, in 1996.
After earning her Bachelor’s degree, Judy taught school for five years at the Math and Science Academy, a public charter school that serves students in grades six through twelve located in Woodbury, Minnesota. She taught there from 2016 to 2021.
Prior to the beginning of her service in the State Senate, Judy was elected to the Bayport City Council, where she served one term until she relocated to a new home in the city ofAfton. In addition, she has served on both the Bayport and Afton Planning Commissions, and she was elected to serve on the School Board of the Math and Science Academy as a teacher member. Her employment background also includes experience as a first responder. She has worked as a paramedic with Allina Health and on the Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department.
Married to a Navy captain, Judy has also been involved in volunteer work at the Yellow Ribbon Network of Washington County, an organization that serves military members, veterans, and their families in Washington County. At various periods during the six years she worked with the organization, Judy served as President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and she assisted in its organization and formation.
In 2022, Judy was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent Minnesota’s District 41. She has served in that body since Jan. 3, 2023, and her term will expire in 2027. As a State Senator, she supports first responders, abortion access rights, increased family and medical leave programs, tax cuts, and red flag laws. She is also supportive of veterans. She has served on the Committees for Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development; Commerce and Consumer Protection; and Judiciary and Public Safety.
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Hallie Stillwell—the frontier teacher who taught classes with a gun strapped to her hip
Hallie Stillwel was an intrepid teacher on the Texas frontier during the Mexican Revolution.
There are many instances in American history when intrepid teachers on the frontier faced dangerous circumstances in order to safeguard their students and conduct their lessons. One such intrepid teacher was Hallie Stillwell, a school marm in Presidio, Texas, during the Mexican Revolution.
Hallie was born in Waco, Texas, on Oct. 20, 1897, but her family moved to Alpine, Texas a short time later. Hallie inaugurated her career as an educator in 1916, when she accepted a teaching position in Presidio, Texas. She was only 19 years old at the time. Because the school was located within shooting distance of the encampment of Pancho Villa’s Revolutionary Army, the neophyte teacher conducted her classes with her father’s gun strapped to her hip. In fact, to compensate her for this danger, her salary included extra dollars for hazard pay!
Hallie’s life also included romance. On July 29, 1918, the teacher married Roy Stillwell, a rancher from Alpine. After their wedding, the couple moved into the primitive one-room cabin on Roy’s sprawling 6,500-acre ranch. Her life as a rancher was filled with manual labor. Day after day, Hallie worked at her husband’s side, herding, branding cattle, mending fences, and hunting game. The circumstances of their lives would have been described as harsh under ordinary circumstances, but became especially difficult during the Dust Bowl years, although the couple managed to save their ranch from foreclosure. Along the way, Hallie and Roy raised two sons and a daughter.
Despite her home and family responsibilities, the former teacher found time to become a published columnist and author. In 1955, Hallie launched a published column she called “Ranch News” for the Alpine Avalanche. She also co-wrote a book with Virginia Madison that was entitled How Come It’s Called That: Place Names in the Big Band County, which was published in 1962. She also published a memoir she called I’ll Gather My Geese in 1991. And as if all that were not enough, Hallie officially became a Justice of the Peace for Brewster County in 1964.
