Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell

About Terry Lee Marzell

Terry Lee Marzell holds a bachelor's degree in English from Cal State Fullerton and a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cal State San Bernardino. She also holds a certificate for Interior Design Level 1 from Mt. San Antonio College. She has been an educator in the Corona Norco Unified School District for more than 30 years.

FL teacher Jesica Pearce garners 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence

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Jesica Pearce, a Special Education teacher from Jacksonville in northern Florida, has earned a 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence.  Photo Credit:University of North Florida

There are many dedicated and deserving educators who work in our nation’s schools. Occasionally, one of them receives recognition for their outstanding achievements. One of these is Jesica Pearce, an elementary school Special Education teacher from Florida. She has garnered a coveted 2024 Gladys Prior Award for Career Teaching Excellence. She is one of four northern Florida educators to win the award, which comes with a $17,000 check.

Jesica teaches students with varying exceptionalities to third, fourth, and fifth graders at Lake Lucina Elementary School in Jacksonville. Her career as an educator spans 22 years, almost all of them in Duval County Public Schools.

In addition to her Gladys Prior Award, Jesica was named a Duval County Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist. She was also named Lake Lucina Elementary Teacher of the Year in both 2013 and 2023. Furthermore, she has also been honored as a Microsoft Innovative Education Expert and received the prestigious Cindy Edelman Excellence in Teaching Fellowship.

Jesica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education. She earned her Master’s degree in Art Eucation from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Currently she is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Global Education through Arizona State University.

The Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence were established in 1998 by philanthropist Gilchrist Berg, founder and president of Water Street Capital, to honor teachers who have accomplished lifelong careers in education. Over the last 26 years, Berg has distributed more than $2 million to honor teachers in the Jacksonville area. The award is named after Berg’s fourth-grade teacher at Ortega Elementary School, Gladys Prior. The University of North Florida College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) manages the award on behalf of Berg.

 

Jackie Freitas named Hawaii’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Jackie Freitas named 2024 State Teacher of the Year Photo Credit: CCSSO

There are many excellent educators deserving of recognition who work in public schools in the state of Hawaii. One of these is his school agriculture teacher Jackie Freitas. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Jackie teaches at Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii. In a career that spans 13 years, she has worked nearly all of them at Leilehua. There she instructs courses in natural resources and serves as the advisor for her school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club.

Jackie teaches her students to grow produce through coding and STEM research. She has introduced her students to lessons on hydroponics, bee apiaries, and more. She has also pioneered a new initiative at the high school which allows students to sell and donate produce to local families. She created a curriculum for animal husbandry in order to give students hands-on experience, and designed lessons in organic farming to train them to become certified organic inspectors for the state. She has also formed partnerships with the State Department of Education for certification in food handling and with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources for hunter education certification.

In addition to working with young people, Jackie also serves as a facilitator for providing professional development and hands-on training to teachers across the state. 

Her advice to colleagues? “Take the time to build a community within your classroom, get to know your students and what they can offer within your classroom, as well as allow students the opportunity to learn beyond your four walls of the classroom,” she says. “There are many ways to incorporate instruction other than just lecturing and worksheets, but rather come up with ways to incorporate labs, hands-on instruction, or different types of technology,” she continues.

Jackie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu in 2011. She also earned certification to teach Career and Technical Education in natural resources from Leeward Community College. She is currently pursuing her National Board Certification in natural resources.

TX teacher Lauren Parker participates in NASA Embedded Teacher program

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Junior high school science teacher Lauren Parker inspires her students at Fort Worth Academy in Texas. She was one of eight teachers selected to participate in a NASA Embedded Teacher program. Through this program, she serves as a Limitless Space Institute Educator Ambassador, an International Space Station (ISS) National Lab Space Station Ambassador, and a Tony Space Foundation Teacher Liaison. Lauren is also a winner of the Excellence in Education Award.

Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in Science Education in 2006 and her Master’s degree in Middle School Education in 2007, both from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. She has taught at Fort Worth Academy for the past nine years.

Chalkboard books honored as 2024 American Legacy Book Awards finalists!

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I am beyond excited to announce that BOTH my books about exceptional teachers have been selected as finalists for the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards by American Book Fest! Both books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes, were among the five finalists named in the Education//Academic category.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest, stated that this year’s contest yielded thousands of entries from authors and publishers from around the world. These entries were then narrowed down to the final results. Books were judged in over 100 categories, with one winner and two to five finalists in each category. Awards were presented for titles published between 2010 and 2023. To see the entire list of this year’s winners, click on this link: 2024 American Legacy Book Awards.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers Who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students, was published in 2012 by Wheatmark. This volume was followed by Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor, published in 2015, also by Wheatmark. Both books share biographical sketches of inspirational educators and their pioneering work in America’s public schools.

In addition to recognition from the American Legacy Book Awards, both volumes have earned praise from educators and educational authors (see the press page), and they have been placed in numerous academic and university libraries throughout the United States, including the University of Southern Mississippi, Rutgers University, Berea College, City University of New York, the University of Chicago, and the Autry Museum of the American West. Chalkboard Champions is also part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Thank you so much, American Legacy Book Awards judging committee!