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.

Teacher and former CA legislator Patrick O’Donnell garners CalRTA award

Posted on by

Educator and former California State Assemblemember Patrick O’Donnell was the keynote speaker at the 2023 Convention and Delegate Assembly in Los Angeles last week. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

Classroom teacher and former California State Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell was the keynote speaker at the 2023 Convention and Delegate Assembly of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) which I attended in Los Angeles last week. At the convention, the former legislator garnered a prestigious Friends of CalRTA Award, given in recognition for his dedication to protecting the pensions of retired teachers, for improving the professional environment of classroom teachers, and for expanding educational opportunities for students. And he recounted his return to the classroom after serving eight years in the State Assembly. The address was realistic, but hopeful and humorous.

Patrick was born in Long Beach on Feb., 25, 1966. As a young man, he attended California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History and his Master’s degree in Public Administration. He then spent nearly 20 years in the classroom as a high school History teacher in the Paramount Unified School District. While there, he helped create a program that established more instructional time for students, thereby improving graduation rates and qualifying more students for college admission.

Patrick inaugurated his career in politics in 2004 when he was elected to the Long Beach City Council. He served ten years in this position. In 2013, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the California State Assembly. He represented District 70, which includes the Los Angeles Harbor District, San Pedro, Long Beach, and Catalina Island. He served in the State Assembly from 2014 to 2022.

In office, Patrick served as the Chair of the Education Committee.In that role, he consistently advocated for increased funding for K-12 schools; advocated for better access to the core curriculum for English-language learners; expanded investments for school facilities; and sought additional funding for career technical and vocational education programs. “I know that kids need multiple paths to success,” Patrick declared. “Not every kid is going to a four-year university. Statistics bear that out. We need to provide them opportunity as well,” he continued.

He also championed efforts to help close the student achievement gap by securing funding to establish the CSU Center to Close the Opportunity Gap located on the campus of CSULB. In addition to the Education Committee, Patrick was also a member of the Assembly Committees on Transportation; Public Employment and Retirement; and Budget, including the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance.

Once he retired from the legislature, Patrick returned to his position as a history teacher at Paramount High School. The school serves grades 10 through 12.

 

Utah’s Lily Yuriko Havey: Teacher, artist, award-winning author

Posted on by

Former Utah English teacher Lily Yuriko Havey is also an artist and an award-winning author. Photo credit: Lily Yuriko Havey

During Asian American/Pacific Islander Month, I’m devoting some of my blog posts to educators of Asian descent. One of these was Lily Yuriko Havey, a high school English teacher who was incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. She is also an artist and an award-winning author.

Lily was born in Los Angeles in 1932. She was only nine years old when the Empire of Japan attacked Peal Harbor. Shortly after that, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 resulted in 120,000 West Coat residents of Japanese descent being removed from their homes and relocated to internment camps throughout the interior. Lily and her family were among those who were relocated. Lily’s family was sent first to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, and then to the Amache Relocation Center in Prowers County, southwestern Colorado.

Once the US won World War II, Lily and her family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.  Later, Lily garnered a scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She earned her Bachelor’s degree there. She then returned to Utah, where she earned her Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Utah.

Once she earned her degrees, Lily inaugurated her career as an educator, teaching high school English, creative writing, and humanities in Utah public schools. Her career as an educator spanned 13 years.

After Lily left the classroom in the 1970’s, she decided to develop her artistic talents. She experimented with creating stained-glass suncatchers. This endeavor led her to establish a stained-glass artwork business which she maintained for over 30 years. In the 1980s, Lily expanded her artistic endeavors. She began to paint watercolors, and quickly recognized her paintings were helpful in overcoming the post-traumatic stress disorder she suffered as a child when she was an internee. When she displayed the watercolors in galleries and art shows, she was asked to share descriptions of the paintings. These descriptions led her to write her memoir, GAsa Gasa Girl Goes to Camp: A Nisei Youth behind a World War II Fence. The volume was published in June, 2014, by the University of Utah Press. The efforts earned high praise. In 2015, Lily garnered the Evans Biography Award, presented for a book written during the previous calendar year. The award is administered by Utah State University.

To order a copy of Lily’s book, simply click on this link to amazon: Gasa Gasa Girl Goes to Camp:  A Nisei Youth behind a World War II Fence.

Montana’s Catherine Matthews named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Pre-school Special Education teacher Catherine Matthews of Bozeman, Montana, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the year.  Photo credit: Montana State Office of Public Instruction

Many fine classroom teachers have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Catherine Matthews, an early childhood Special Education teacher from Bozeman, Montana. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Catherine’s career as an educator spans 26 years. For the past 20 of them, she has taught Pre-K Special Education at Hyalite Elementary School in Bozeman.

In her classroom, Catherin works diligently to build an inclusive environment that celebrates every child’s talents and encourages a love for life-long learning. She collaborates with families, colleagues, and the community as a whole to foster a classroom culture of acceptance and diversity in which all her students feel welcome. “They respond to her, they love her, and you can feel the love when you walk in her classroom,” asserts Hyalite Principal Heather Chvojka. “If you’ve ever seen Catherine teach before, it’s like watching a magic show. The things that she’s able to do with these kids is amazing,” Chvokja continues. “Even when she’s walking through the school, her love and care for the families is contagious,” Chvojka says.

Catherine extends opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. She runs an organic farm, and she is also a beekeeper. Through these activities, she hopes to create additional learning activities and provide local, farm-to-table, healthy food options. Her husband, Jason Matthews, is an advocate for wildlands and animals, and together the couple runs an animal sanctuary.

Catherine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Montana State University, Bozeman. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education from Montana State University, Billings.

To learn more about Catherine Matthews, see this article published about her by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

 

Acclaimed author Crystal Hana Kim is a Teach for America alumnus

Posted on by

Acclaimed author Crystal Hana Kim, a Teach for America alumnus, has taught writing at the elementary, high school, and college levels. Photo credit: Crystal Hana Kim

There are many excellent classroom teachers who have earned recognition in fields outside of the classroom. One of these is Crystal Kim, a published novelist who has taught writing at the elementary, high school, and college levels.

Kim was born in Queens, New York, in 1987, the daughter of immigrates from South Korea. As a young child, she often returned to South Korea every summer to spend time with extended family. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2009 and Master’s degree in Fine Arts in 014, both from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Education from Hunter College in 2011.

Crystal came to the classroom through the Teach for America (TFA) program. TFA is a nonprofit organization who says their mission is to “enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation’s most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence.” The organization accomplishes this by recruiting college graduates to serve as teachers in public schools. Those selected commit to teaching for at least two years in a public or public charter K–12 school in one of the 52 low-income communities that the organization serves.

Crystal published her first novel, If You Leave Me, in 2018. The book was named a Best Book of 2018 by The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Literary Hub, and the ALA Booklist. In fact, her work was so well-received that she was named a National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Honoree in 2022. The honor recognizes debut fiction writers whose work is predicted to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape. Crystal was also named a 2021 Jerome Hill Artist Finalist and a 2017 PEN America/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize winner. She has received scholarships from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Jentel, and Hedgebrook. Her work has been published in Elle Magazine, The Paris Review, Guernica, and elsewhere. Additionally, she is a contributing editor at Apogee Journal.