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.

Jimmy Day named Colorado’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school music educator Jimmy Lee Day II has been named the 2023 Colorado State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Rocky Mountain PBS

It is always my pleasure to celebrate exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Jimmy Lee Day II, a band director from Aurora, Colorado. He has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. He is the first African American man to win the coveted recognition.

Jimmy teaches instrumental music to sixth graders, seventh graders, and eighth graders at East Middle School in Aurora. He has taught there since 2017. In a career that has spanned 14 years, he has expanded three struggling band programs in urban areas. He transformed each of them into award-winning programs, earning superior scores at district music festivals. In fact, as a result of his effective teaching, Jimmy was chosen to participate as a mentor in the Public Education & Business Coalition and the Aurora Public School Mentoring Community of Practice.

The honored educator says the core strategies to his success as a teacher are twofold: Connection and consistency. “From classroom management to how I rehearse my students to how I want my expectations—it’s consistent, it doesn’t change, it’s unbending. And then my connection—me making myself human just like you—and we make connections,” he asserts.

What inspired Jimmy to pursue a career as a music educator? “I am originally from Detroit,” he explains. “The band director at my middle school, Mrs. Knox, saw my potential to be a great instrumentalist. She helped me attend after-school practice twice a week. My parents did not have a car and the school was far from where I stayed. As a result, I wasn’t able to attend practice most of the time. She offered to take me home when I wasn’t able to get a ride,” he continues. “At the time, I figured she was just being nice, but reflecting on it as an older person, I see that she saw me as an investment in her program, and she made sure to invest in me as well,” he concludes.

Jimmy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music at Tennessee State University in 2006. He earned his Master’s degree in Teaching at Trevecca Nazarene University in 2008.

Former Special Ed teacher, curriculum consultant, and author Janet Hale

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Former Special Education teacher Janet Hale now works as a consultant in curriculum design. Photo credit: Documenting Learning

Many excellent classroom teachers go on to become successful educational consultants. One of these is Janet Hale, a former special education teacher who earns a living   as a curriculum consultant and author.

In her current work, Janet specializes in curriculum mapping; standards literacy and alignment; and documenting learning to assist schools, districts, higher-ed programs, and educational organizations with their curriculum, instruction, and assessment needs and improvement plans. In addition, Janet has written professional books  that focus on curriculum mapping, upgrading units of study, and documenting learning.

This accomplished educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum Development from the same university.

Janet inaugurated her career as an educator at Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Arizona. She has taught students at several grade levels, which she asserts worked to her advantage. “Being the ‘last hired’ caused me to teach in a variety of grade levels and schools during my first few years, which proved invaluable because it caused me to learn how to adapt quickly to a new environment,” she says. “Likewise, changing grade levels from high school to middle grades to the first grade provided me with a unique insight into the need for a systemic mindset when considering students’ learning experiences during his or her academic years, which is a passion of mine to this day,” she explains.

Janet has published three books for professional educators: A Guide to Curriculum Mapping: Planning, Implementing, and Sustaining the Process (Corwin Press); An Educational Leader’s Guide to Curriculum Mapping: Creating and Sustaining Collaborative Cultures (Corwin Press); and Upgrade Your Curriculum: Practical Ways to Transform Units and Engage Students (ASCD).

To learn more about Janet Hale, click on this link to her website Curriculum Decisions.

 

Happy Labor Day, teachers!

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On Labor Day eve year, we celebrate the millions of workers who have made America the country what it is today. And all throughout our nation, our public schools are full of some of the hardest-working people I have ever met. Teachers, administrators, support staff, custodians, counselors, teachers’ aids—they all work some of the longest hours of any professionals around. They invest innumerable hours in our children, working diligently during long days, weekends, even summer and winter vacations. Most educators are driven by one driving mission: Making sure our young people get access to the education and life skills they need to succeed. Here’s to you! Happy Labor Day, Teachers!

Algonquin teacher Wowaus was also a translator, pri

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A page from the Bible printed by Samuel Green and translated into the Algonquin language by Wowaus. Wowaus was a Native American printer and teacher. Photo credit: Public Domain

There are many examples of Native Americans who have become talented classroom teachers. One of these was Wowaus, also known by the name James Printer. He was a typesetter, translator, and educator who helped translate the Bible into the Algonquin language.

Wowaus was born in Hassanamesit, a Praying Indian settlement founded by colonist John Elliot. The remains of the settlement are located in modern-day Grafton, Massachusetts. The exact year that Wowaus was born is uncertain, but researchers believe it was approximately 1650. Son of William Sudbury, an indigenous leader who converted to Christianity, Wowaus was a member of the Nipmuc Tribe.

As a child, Wowaus attended an Indian charity school where he became fluent in the English language. He went on to study at Harvard University’s Indian College. As a youth, he was apprenticed to Samuel Green, the printer who published The Cambridge Press in 1659. While there, Wowaus assisted in printing many of the books in the Algonquin language that were used throughout the American colonies in his day. He also helped create the first Bible in the Massachusett language. These Bibles were used by English colonists in their attempts to assimilate Native Americans of the Algonquin tribe.

During King Philip’s War, an armed conflict between Native Americans and New England colonists (1675-1678), Wowaus joined forces with tribal chieftain Metacom. Once the war was over, he returned to the printing press. His work during that period is most notable for his work typesetting the famous captive narrative of Mary Rowlandson. In his later life, the former printer returned to his home town of Hassanemesit, where he became a teacher. This intriguing historical figure passed away in 1717.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, you can click on this link to The American Antiquarian Society.

Celebrating the birthday of first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe

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New Hampshire Social Studies teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, was lost when the space shuttle Challenger exploded seconds after lift-off on Jan. 28, 1986. Photo credit: NASA.

Today we celebrate the birthdate of Chalkboard Champion Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space. I remember well the day she climbed aboard the space shuttle Challenger, with excitement and a huge smile, when it was launched on Jan. 28, 1986. In only my fifth year of teaching, I was so proud that a fellow educator had been selected to represent the teaching profession as the first civilian in space. I was more than a little star-struck by the professionalism, intelligence, and infectious enthusiasm of the chosen candidate, who was selected from among 11,000 other highly-qualified applicants.

Christa was born on Sept. 2, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education and History from Framingham State College in 1970, and her Master’s degree from Bowie State University in 1978. At the time of her space flight, she was working as a Social Studies teacher at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire.

During her mission in space, Christa planned to write a journal of her experiences as an astronaut from the perspective that even an ordinary citizen can take center stage in the making of history. She was to have been the perfect example of that. In addition, the intrepid educator was scheduled to perform lessons and simple scientific experiments aboard the space shuttle which would be viewed by students in classrooms all over America.

Tragically, Christa was one of seven astronauts killed when the Challenger exploded on that fateful day, just 73 seconds after lift-off. The journal she never got to finish was replaced by A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space, written by her grief-stricken mother, Grace George Corrigan. This book is a tender tribute to an extraordinary teacher. A Journal for Christa can be ordered from amazon. I have also included a chapter about Christa McAuliffe in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and their Deeds of Valor, also available on amazon.