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.

New York PE teacher Betty Lacey coached boys’ and girls’ sports during WWII

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Athletic coach and physical education teacher Betty Lacey of Sherwood, New York, was one of the very few women in that period who coached both boys’ and girls’ sports teams. Photo credit: auburnpub.com

Many women make fine athletic coaches, but very few have coached both boys’ and girls’ teams, especially in the 1940’s. One such coach was Betty Lacey, a physical education teacher from Sherwood, New York.

As a young woman, Betty earned her Bachelor’s degree from Sargent College at Boston University in 1944. In 1964, she earned her Master’s degree in Physical Education from Ithaca College in New York.

After her graduation from Boston University, Betty inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a physical education teacher at Sherwood Central High School in Sherwood, New York. From 1944 to 1946, while World War II was in full swing which created a serious shortage of manpower, Betty taught and coached both boys’ and girls’ sports teams. This was highly unusual, even for that time. While at Sherwood, Betty coached boys’ football, basketball, and baseball. In addition, she officiated women’s university volleyball and basketball games at institutions across upstate New York and the northeast.

From 1956 to 1981, Betty taught at Auburn High School in New York. While there, the indefatigable educator coached all of the girls’ major athletic teams, including a record-setting field hockey team. Under her leadership, the Auburn teams garnered four consecutive New York State Championship titles in girls’ field hockey.

For her work as an athletic coach, Betty earned many accolades. She was the first woman to be inducted into the New York State Coaches Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Auburn High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Ithaca College Athletic hall of Fame. In addition, Ithaca College Women’s Basketball bestows an annual award in her honor.

Betty Lacey passed away on August 11, 2012. To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see her obituary at Legacy.com.

Elem teacher Reggie LeDon White named 2023 Alabama Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Reggie LeDon White has been named as the 2023 Alabama State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: ABC News

It is always my pleasure to share stories about exemplary educators who have earned accolades for their workin the classroom. One of these is Reggie LeDon White, an elementary school teacher from Alabama who has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Reggie teaches fifth-grade at Booker T. Washington K-8 School in Birmingham. The honored educator believes that relationships are the key to successful teaching. “By building solid relationships and comprehensively investing in education, we have a better chance of ensuring that every student can achieve their full potential and contribute to the success of our society,” Reggie asserts.

Reggie was raised in a small town in south Alabama. After his graduation from Southern Choctaw High School, he had an opportunity to spend a summer break  in San Jose, California. As the summer progressed, Reggie developed a passion for teaching. The final incentive to enter the profession came when he watched a television commercial that featured a child saying, “We need you.”

Reggie earned his Bachelor’s degree in elementary Education from Alabama State. He earned his Master’s degree in Education Administration. He also has an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and he is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certified Teacher. His career as an educator spans 26 years.

Since its inauguration in 1952, the Teacher of the Year program has celebrated educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and four US territories. Each year, these exemplary teachers have been recognized at a ceremony at the White House, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year that follows their selection, these teachers are invited to learn at Google, develop a TEDEd talk, and attend Space Camp, among other honors.

 

Pennsylvania French teacher Karyn Senita garners PSMLA honors

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High school French teacher Karyn Senita was named the 2022 Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Association. Photo credit: Grove City Area Senior High School

Many excellent teachers earn accolades for their work with students. One of these is Karyn Senita, a high school world languages teacher from Pennsylvania. In 2022, she was named the Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Association (PSMLA).

Karyn teaches French at Grove City Area Senior High School in Mercer County. In a career that has spanned more than 20 years, she has worked at Grove City High for the past six years. The honored teacher attributes her successes to her growth mindset. To this end, she has founded a PSMLA Global Scholars program. The purpose of the program is to help  students evolve into global students who have an understanding and appreciation of world cultures. Karyn has also served as a sponsor for her school’s Interact Club. And as if all that were not enough, she serves as an Adjunct Education Professor of World Language Methodologies at Grove City College.

Karyn earned her Bachelor’s degree in French and Secondary Education from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in French from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2008.

 

Teacher Annie Brown Leslie became one of the country’s first advice columnists

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Teacher Annie Brown Leslie was among the first advice columnists in the country. Thoughout the Great Depression, her readers chipped in thousands of dollars to finance philanthropic endeavors she supported. Photo credit: The Detroit News

Many fine classroom teachers are also successful journalists. One of these was Annie Brown Leslie, a teacher from Maine who earned acclaim as one of the country’s first advice columnists.

Annie was born on Dec. 11, 1870, in Perry, Maine, the daughter of a farmer and Civil War veteran. As a young girl, she attended high school in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Upon her graduation in 1888, she enrolled at Mount Holyoke College, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1892.

After earning her degree, Annie inaugurated her career as a schoolteacher. Over the course of ten years, she taught in schools in Rockville, Connecticut; White River Junction, Vermont; and Mount Clemens, Michigan.

On Sept. 19, 1904, Annie married journalist and editor James Edward Leslie. After he died in 1917, she took over his position as the drama editor for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Before long, using the pen name “Nancy Brown,” Annie began to publish an advice column entitled “Experience” for The Detroit News. The column ran from 1917 to 1942. In fact, she was among the first advice columnists in the country. Because of her common-sense philosophy, the former teacher won respect and widespread readership, and her column grew to be immensely influential. In 1929, her readers donated substantial funds to plant trees in a clearcut forest in Northern Michigan. At her suggestion, her readers contributed to a fundraising campaign in 1930 to purchase artwork for the Detroit Institute of Arts. They also funded a concert series by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Thoughout the Great Depression, thousands of readers chipped in pennies or a dollar, or two, or five, for philanthropic endeavors supported by “Nancy Brown.”

Sadly, Annie Brown Leslie passed away on Oct. 7, 1948. She was 77 years old. To read more about this amazing educator and journalist, see this article about her published by The Detroit News.

 

Briana Morales is named the Illinois 2023 Teacher of the Year

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For her work in helping traumatized and underprivileged minority students, high school English teacher Briana Morales has been named the Illinois 2023Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Illinois Public Media

Many excellent teachers deserve recognition for their work in the classroom. And some of them actually receive it! One of these is Briana Morales, an English teacher from Illinois who has been honored by the Illinois State Dept. of Education.

Briana teaches in East St. Louis at Gordon Bush Alternative Center in St. Louis, Illinois. The facility is an alternative school that serves a majority of Black students from low-income families. Briana is passionate about alternative education. “I think alternative education is representative of the underdog in all of us,” she asserts. “They are the kids that you’re rooting for to turn the tide and be who they want to be with the right resources. These are kids who may have unmet needs and lagging skills, but one caring adult can break the chains for so many children,” she continues. “We have a moral responsibility to ensure that every child has access to equitable experiences that allow them to be their authentic selves, especially in alternative education,” she declares. 

Throughout her career, Briana has been recognized for using writing and poetry to help her students process their experiences of poverty, personal loss, and violence. Her use of poetry as a therapeutic device has roots in her own childhood. “In seventh grade, I was struggling with complex life changes at home and I experienced a lot of trauma as a child,” she reveals. “My teacher at the time tried to equip me with the skills to battle everything that I was going through. She taught me how to write poetry as a way to cope,” she continues. “I wrote my first poetry book in her class and I never stopped writing,” she concludes.

In addition to her Teacher of the Year honors, Briana was named an Early Career Educator of Color by the National Council for Teachers of English in 2021. She has served as a policy fellow, senior fellow, and now a national senior research fellow with Teach Plus, where she has worked on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion for students across the state through culturally responsive initiatives. Additionally, Briana serves on the school board for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, School District 428. Her career as an educator spans six years.

Briana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education from St. Ambrose University in 2017 and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education. She is currently pursuing a PhD in education policy, organization, and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

To learn more about Briana Morales, click on this link to an article about her published by Chalkbeat.