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.

Lauren Camarillo named a 2023 California State Teacher of the Year

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Spanish teacher Lauren Camarillo of Mountain View, California, is one of five educators in her state who have been named a 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: California Teachers Association

Congratulations to California teacher Lauren Camarillo, who has garnered recognition as one of five educators in her state who have been named a 2023 Teacher of the Year.

In a career that has spanned 12 years, Lauren has taught seven of them at Mountain View High School in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District in Santa Clara County. She instructs courses Spanish there. In addition, she serves as the adviser for the school’s Ambassadors Club and Spartan Dance Club. Prior to her employment in Mountain View, she taught at Willow Glen High School in San Jose, California.

“My whole family is in education,” reveals Lauren. “We are teachers, counselors, administrators, and professors,” she continues. “From a young age, I got to see the ways they helped their students reach their full potential as learners and as people. This motivated me to find ways to make a positive impact in my own community,” she concludes.

Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Linguistics, and Spanish from UCLA in 2010. She earned her Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Stanford University in 2011. In addition to her honors as a California Teacher of the Year, Lauren was named a Santa Clara County Teacher of the Year in 2022.

Established in 1972, The California Teacher of the Year program, which was established in 1972, was designed to honor the teaching profession and increase interest in teaching as a career. The program brings attention to teachers who successfully employ strategies to increase academic success and narrow the achievement gap. In addition to Lauren, the other four educators honored are Jason Torres-Rangel and Bridgette Donald-Blue of Los Angeles, Catherine Borek of Compton, and Ben Case of Irvine.

FL drama teacher Jason Zembuch Young honored at the Tony Awards!

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Florida drama teacher Jason Zembuch Young was honored yesterday at the 76th Annual Tony Awards when he garnered this year’s Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Photo credit: Broadway News

If you were watching the 76th Annual Tony Awards last night you may have noticed that a very special honor was given to drama teacher Jason Zembuch Young of South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida. He garnered this year’s Excellence in Theatre Education Award (EITEA)!

For much of his 20-year career as an educator, Jason has been a champion for providing inclusive theater programs, particularly for the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) community, which is quite large in his area. He certainly goes the extra mile to support both his DHH students and the audiences who come to watch them perform. Each year, Jason produces two full-length productions—one play and one musical—that are performed both vocally and in American Sign Language. To prepare for these productions, which often involve 150 or more students, Jason ensures that interpreters are available during and after school to teach his hearing and DHH actors and crew how to communicate and perform successfully. And he does this with a budget that is slim to none.

In addition, Jason provides enrichment opportunities during the summers. Using his high school students as counselors and mentors, he runs a six-week theater camp for elementary and middle school students. Furthermore, his high school students participate in International Thespian district and state competitions, and they have earned eight South Florida Cappie Theater Awards for Best Play or Musical during Jason’s tenure at South Plantation High School. And as if all that were not enough, the honored educator conducts fundraisers each year to provide four scholarships worth $1,000 to graduating seniors.

Not only does Jason support his students at school, but he and his partner, Michael, have generously provided a foster home to more than three dozen abused and underprivileged children. He has facilitated the adoption of many of those foster children, and he has even become an adoptive parent himself. And to enrich their lives, Jason offers free admission to foster families so they can attend his theater productions.

The Excellence in Theatre Education Award was established in 2014 by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University to give recognition to exemplary theater arts teachers and to nurture the arts in education. In addition to his stunning trophy, Jason will receive $10,000 for his South Plantation High School theater program, and he’ll receive tickets to attend this year’s Tony Awards and Gala. In addition, Jason’s students will attend a Master Class taught by a member of the Carnegie Mellon University faculty.

This year’s Tony Awards were held on Sun., June 11, 2023, at the United Palace Theater in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

Idaho teacher Dr. Kellie Taylor garners 2022 AIAA STEM Educator Award

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Dr. Kellie Taylor, a teacher from Boise, Idaho, has earned a coveted 2022 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award from the Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Photo credit: Idaho News

Many hardworking educators earn accolades for their create innovative STEM programs. One of these is Dr. Kellie Taylor, an elementary school teacher from Idaho whose innovative curriculum garnered her a coveted 2022 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award from the Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This annual award celebrates five K-12 educators from around the country who have gone above and beyond to nurture the next generation of innovators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Kellie teaches second and third graders in the Gifted and Talented program at Hawthorne Elementary in Boise. During her entire 19-year career, the honored educator has prioritized STEM subjects in her classroom. She emphasizes project-based learning with a strong focus on coding, robotics, space education, and hands-on learning. In addition, she leads STEM curriculum development, hosts STEM-focused after-school activities, and shares her passion for STEM education by leading professional development workshops for her colleagues.

Kellie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2004, her Master’s degree in Educational Technology in 2006, and her PhD in Educational Technology in 2016, all from Boise State University. In addition to her Trailblazing honors, she was also selected an Albert Einstein distinguished Educator Fellow in 2019. In this role, she collaborated with the Educational Outreach program of the Library of Congress. She has also worked for three years as a STEM Master Teacher at the Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

As part of her AAIA award, Kellie received $5,000, and an additional $5,000 went to her school. In addition, she received free access to Challenger Center STEM programming, which supplements classroom lessons through Earth and space-themed journeys. The programming includes hands-on, simulated learning experiences; Center Missions delivered at Challenger Learning Centers around the globe; Virtual Missions delivered by Challenger Learning Center Flight Directors; and digital experiences delivered by teachers in their classrooms. To learn more about the Trailblazer Award, click on this link to AIAA.

Florida teacherJennifer Jaso encourages innovative projects

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Florida Social Studies teacher Jennifer Jaso encourages her students to create innovative projects to demonstrate their knowledge of democratic processes. Photo credit: Florida Department of Education

There are many fine educators working in public schools in the Sunshine State of Florida. One of these is Jennifer Jaso, a middle school social studies teacher. She encourages her students to create innovative projects to demonstrate their knowledge of democratic processes.

Jennifer teaches social studies to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Sarasota Middle School in Sarasota, Florida. This Chalkboard Champion is highly-regarded for her ability to build relationships with students and working with them to develop critical thinking skills amid content knowledge.

“I want my students to know their role as citizens,” declares Jennifer. “I’m here to help them become contributing members of society and prepared for whatever they face when they leave my classroom,” she continues. “If we want our country to resemble the democracy that our forefathers spent many hours, days and years creating as they worked toward a more perfect union of states, we have got to keep our people informed and participating,” she concludes.

To this end, Jennifer encourages her students to use a variety of ways to demonstrate their knowledge of democratic processes. They can create a website, write a paper with footnotes, design a documentary-style movie, sing or act in a performance, or create a museum-style exhibit with 3D models and lights.

In a career that has spanned a total of 18 years, her teaching experience includes teaching assignments that involve students in Montessori, Gifted and Talented, Title I, and virtual learning environments. She also serves as her school’s Social Studies Department Chair and was a professional learning community leader.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Jennifer is an educational trainer and consultant specializing in classroom management. She is the District Co-ordinator for her District’s National History Day, and she is a co-founder and Executive Board Member of the Florida Council for History Education, a nonprofit dedicated to the advocacy of history in education.  She has also presented many times at the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference and at the Florida Council for the Social Studies Conference.

For her work as an educator, Jennifer has earned many accolades. She was named the 2022 Sarasota County Middle School Teacher of the Year, the 2022 District Teacher of the Year for Sarasota County Schools, and a 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year Top Five Finalist.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies from Florida State University in 2003. She earned her Mater’s degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from the University of South Florida in 2006. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in American History from Argosy University in 2014.

To read more about this amazing educator, see this article about her published by the Herald-Tribune.