Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Arkansas PE teacher Melissa Bragg garners 2023 SHAPE Award
Melissa Bragg, a physical education educator from Bryant, Arkansas, has been honored as the 2023 High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE). Photo Credit: SHAPE
In today’s world of high technology, sometimes it is difficult to get young people involved in physical fitness activities. Melissa Bragg, an exemplary junior high school physical education teacher from Arkansas, is working hard to change that.
Melissa teaches in Bryant, Arkansas. This exceptional educator, whose career in the Bryant School District spans 18 years, has been honored with the title of 2023 High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Arkansas. This recognition recognizes her outstanding teaching skills, her innovative methods, and her steadfast commitment to her students’ physical and mental well-being.
Melissa’s classroom is a place where students learn about physical fitness, in addition to teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play. Her commitment to promoting these important values is evident in her daily interactions with her students. She instills in them a strong sense of responsibility and respect for one another, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment.
Since the organization was founded in 1885, the SHAPE organization has advanced the cause of excellence in school-based health education and physical education. The organization collaboratively developed National Health Education Standards physical education programs, which provide the framework for effective skills-based health education instruction for all K-12 students. To read more about the organization, click on this link to SHAPE.
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NM teacher Margaret Herrera Chavez was also a celebrated artist
There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who have distinguished themselves in other professions. Elementary school teacher and celebrated artist Margaret Herrera Chavez is a shining example of this.
Margaret was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1912, the daughter of ranchers. She was raised in Gascon, Mora County, New Mexico. As a young woman, Margaret worked as an elementary school teacher. For a time, she also worked for the Works Progress Administration.
In addition to teaching, Margaret was a self-taught artist. She painted primarily in watercolors and oils, and experimented with printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. She later completed formal training at Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She also attended the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and the Instituto San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico.
The natural environment of northern New Mexico where she was raised provided the greatest inspiration for Margaret’s art. Her pieces featured mostly broad landscapes painted in light colors. Margaret’s Nuevo Mexicana art pieces were so exceptional that she was able to exhibit her work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she won several prizes. Currently, her pieces are part of the permanent collection of Highlands University, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Museum of International Folk Art.
In addition to her own successes, the former teacher was eager to promote the work of other emerging women artists. She was able to accomplish this as a member of the Hispanic Cultural Society, the New Mexico Education Association, and the National Education Association. She also served as the president of the Albuquerque branch of the National League of American Pen Women.
Margaret passed away in Alburquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in 1992. To read more about this educator and artist, see Printmakers You Should Know.
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NE elem teacher Ivette Kinney earns 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom award
Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Omaha, Nebraska, has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Photo Credit: Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation
Many educators all over the country are featuring farm to table curriculum in their classrooms. One of these is Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Nebraska. In fact, she has done such a great job with her curriculum that she has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.
Ivette teaches second grade at Mari Sandoz Elementary School in Omaha. In her classroom, she incorporates agriculture in her lesson-planning through a program called Classroom Visits sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Ivette signed up for classroom visits, and later she recruited her entire second-grade team to participate. Now, every second-grade student on her campus participates in a Classroom Visit during the course of the year.
Included with Ivette’s Teacher of the Year honors is a $250 Amazon gift card, an agriculture book bundle, and an expense-paid trip to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. The conference, which will be held June 24-27, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah, brings educators together from all over the country to learn how to use agricultural concepts to effectively teach core subjects such as reading, math, science, and social studies. The conference features recognition for Teacher of the Year honorees, educational workshops, traveling workshops to agri-businesses and research facilities, and farm tours.
The mission of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is to engage young people, educators, and the general public to promote an understanding of the vital importance of agriculture in the lives of all Nebraskans. For more information about the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, visit www.nefbfoundation.org. And here is a two-minute You Tube video about Ivette.
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Celebrating the work of Virginia football coach Bill Yoast
Outstanding football coach Bill Yoast left an indelible mark on high school football in Alexandria, Virginia. Photo Credit: Alexandria Times
There are many outstanding athletic coaches who work with young people in our schools that are deserving of recognition. Today, I share the story of one of them: Bill Yoast, a football coach who left an indelible mark on high school football in Alexandria, Virginia.
Bill was born in Florence, Alabama, in 1924. He grew up with an absentee father, and picked cotton to help support his family. During WWII, he was drafted into the Army Air Corps, which was the precursor to the US Air Force, in 1943, where he served for three years.
Bill earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Mercer University, and his Master’s and Education Specialist degrees from Peabody College in Tennessee. He inaugurated his career as a teacher and football coach in Sparta, Georgia. He left that position after the head of the school board reprimanded him for letting an African American baseball team use the shower facilities in a local high school.
In 1960, Bill moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he accepted a position as the Head Football Coach at Francis C. Hammond High School. In 1969, he led his team to a win at the Virginia AAA Regional Championships.
Once the schools were integrated in 1971, Bill switched schools to TC Williams High, and he also switched roles to become the Defensive Coach and an Assistant Coach, while Herman Boone, who is African American, became the Head Football Coach. That season, under the leadership of the two coaches, the Hammond High team went on to win the Virginia state football championship, finishing the year with an undefeated record. In 2000, the relationship between Bill Yoast and Herman Boone was depicted in the movie Remember the Titans. Bill was portrayed by Will Patton and Herman was portrayed by Denzel Washington.
By the time Bill retired from in teaching in 1990, he had spent three decades as a football coach. During his lengthy career, he also taught physical education and driver’s education, and he coached track and field and golf teams.
Bill Yoast passed away on May 23, 2019, at an assisted living facility in Springfield, Virginia. He was 94 years old.
