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.

Civil Rights activist Fannie Richards first Black teacher in Detroit

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Civil Rights activist Fannie Richards of Detroit, Michigan, is recognized as the first African American school teacher in her city. Photo credit: Black Then

Throughout our country, many excellent educators logged “firsts” in their community. One of these was Fannie Richards. She is recognized as the first African American school teacher in Detroit, Michigan.

Fannie was born on Oct. 1, 1840, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the child of free persons of color. When she was just a child, her family moved to Toronto, Canada. She enrolled in Canadian public schools, and once she graduated, she continued her studies at Toronto Normal School and then in Germany, where she worked with education expert Wilhelm Frobel as he developed the innovative new concept of kindergartens.

Once she returned to the United States, Fannie landed in Detroit. Because of her exceptional scholastic record, she was able to secure a position as a teacher in Detroit city schools. But in 1863 Fannie decided to strike out on her own. She opened a private school for African American children, which she operated for five years. In 1868, she returned to public schools when she was hired to teach in Colored School No. 2.

Under the leadership of John Bagley in 1870, Fannie and members of her family protested vehemently against Detroit’s segregated school system. The effort yielded the desired results when, in 1871, the Michigan State Supreme Court ordered the Detroit Board of Education to abolish separate schools for White and African American children. That same year, Fannie was transferred to the newly-integrated Everett Elementary School, where she established the first kindergarten in Detroit. In all, she taught at that school for 44 years.

Fannie’s activism went beyond the classroom, as she founded the Phyllis Wheatley Home for Aged Colored Ladies which was established to meet the needs of poor and elderly Black women in her community. In 1898, she became the home’s first president.

In 1915, after a career that spanned more than 50 years, Fannie retired. She passed away seven years later on Feb. 13, 1922, at the age of 81. For her work in Michigan’s schools, the Chalkboard Champion was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

 

Teachers: Here’s some recommended summer reading

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Terry Lee Marzell

Author Terry Lee Marzell displays her second book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and their Deeds Valor. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

I love to tell stories about outstanding teachers. There are so many phenomenal stories that could be told! I believe that teachers represent the best our country has to offer, and, as a group, they are among the most dedicated, hardworking, and talented people anyone can know.

During this summer vacation, you may be interested in reading stories about some of these wonderful teachers. I have included 12 of them in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and their Deeds Valor. The educators included in this volume were not only talented teachers, but they were also pioneers, trailblazers, and social reformers influential in America’s history.

It fills me with joy to be able to share the stories of just a few of the amazing individuals who have made such significant contributions to the lives of so many. And it fills me with pride to know that, every day, talented educators all over the country are making significant contributions to the lives of their students.

You can order Chalkboard Heroes from amazon in print or digital formats now. Simply click on this link be taken to the page where you can order. Enjoy!

Music educator Andrew Thiesen garners Kansas Horizon Award

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Outstanding music educator Andrew Thiesen of Garden City, Kansas, has garnered a coveted 2023 Kansas Horizon Award. Photo credit: Garden City High School

Students who are enrolled in the music program at Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas, are certainly fortunate to have Andrew Thiesen as their music teacher. That’s because he has garnered a coveted 2023 Kansas Horizon Award.

Andrew earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Trombone Performance at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. He earned his Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting with an emphasis in Wind Band Instruction from Wichita State University.

After earning his degrees, Andrew inaugurated his career as a music educator in 2021 when he was hired as the Assistant Band Director for Garden City High School. That year, he assisted with the school’s Buffaloes Marching Band, and instructed Jazz 2 and Jazz 3. The following year, he added Eighth Grade Jazz Band and Seventh Grade Band at nearby Horace Good Middle School to his teaching responsibilities. He also directs Garden City High’s Symphonic Band and assists with the Wind Ensemble, and he co-teaches the Concert Band.

The Kansas Horizon Award program, sponsored by Kansas State Department of Education, allows school districts from all over the state to nominate one elementary and one secondary teacher for the award each year. To be eligible, teachers must have successfully completed their first year in the profession and must have distinguished themselves as an outstanding educator. Andrew is one of 32 teachers from around the state that were thus recognized this year. The educators were honored at a special ceremony during the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) State Education Conference on Feb. 17, 2023, in Topeka.

To read more about Andrew Thiesen, click on the following link to an article published about him by Garden City High School.

Former English teacher Vanessa Siddle Walker is an expert on African American educational history

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Vanessa Siddle Walker, a former high school English teacher, has earned a reputation as an expert on African American educational history. Photo credit: The New Press

Many superlative classroom teachers have devoted their careers to promoting better education for African American students. One of these is Vanessa Siddle Walker, a former high school English teacher who has earned a reputation as an expert on African American educational history.

Vanessa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She earned her Master’s in Education from Harvard University in 1985. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Education from Harvard University in 1988.

In 1980, Vanessa inaugurated her career in education when she accepted a position as an English teacher at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina. Later she relocated to Cummings High School, a desegregated high school in Burlington, North Carolina. She taught there for four years. She also taught English seminars for two summers at a math and science program for minority students at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

After leaving the high school classroom, Vanessa conducted exhaustive studies of segregation in the American educational system that spanned 25 years. As a result of her research, she published the nonfiction work The Lost Education of Horace Tate: Uncovering the Hidden Heroes Who Fought for Justice in Schools (2020). Her other books include Facing Racism in Education (2004) and Hello Professor: A Black Principal and Professional Leadership in the Segregated South (2009).

In addition, Vanessa has published numerous scholarly articles. Among the journals publishing her research are Review of Education Research, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Research, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Negro Education, and Teachers College Record.

For her body of work, Vanessa has earned many accolades. She has garnered the Grawemeyer Award for Education; the Raymond Cattell Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association; the Spelman College Award for Outstanding Leadership in Education; the Young Scholars Award from the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools; the Best First Book Award from the History Division of the American Educational Research Association; and the Best New Female Scholar Award from the Research Focus on Black Education of the American Educational Research Association. She also received a Spencer Foundation post-doctoral fellowship. And she is a former Fellow of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of AERA.

Today, Vanessa is a Professor of African American Educational Studies at Emory University located in Atlanta, Georgia. She also lectures extensively both nationally and internationally.