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.

George “Sonny” Franck: Teacher, coach, athlete, and US veteran

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Minnesota’s George “Sonny” Franck: Teacher, coach, athlete, and US veteran. Photo credit: National Football Foundation.

Many fine classroom teachers were once successful athletes. This is true of George Franck, a popular Minnesota educator and coach who enjoyed a career as a professional football player before he became a teacher.

George, who was more often called Sonny, was a high school teacher and football coach, first in Oklahoma City and then at Rock Island High School in Illinois. He retired after 25 years as a professional educator in 1978. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and his Master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.

But before he became a Chalkboard Champion, Sonny was a halfback in the National Football League, playing for the New York Giants. It was a success story that surprised the humble Iowa boy, who had a reputation in high school for being scrawny but tough.

Sonny became an all-state end for his alma mater, Davenport High School, and led the school to a state track title, anchoring an 880-relay unit that set a state record. After graduation, he was recruited to play football and run track at the University of Minnesota, where he became a starting halfback in 1938. He led the Golden Gophers to a national championship in 1940, his senior year. That season, Sonny was named an All-American, All-Big Ten, and the Most Valuable Player of the College All-Star Game. Academically, he earned the Big Ten Medal for scholarship and athletics. In the Heisman Trophy voting that year, Sonny placed third, and then he was drafted into the NFL in the first round in 1941. That’s when he went to play for the Giants.

Sonny was also a WWII veteran. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, he served his country in the US Marines, joining as an infantry officer and completing a tour of duty on Iwo Jima. While there, he saw Jack Chevigny, a football star for Notre Dame, killed in action. Sonny eventually became certified as a fighter pilot and served aboard the USS Hornet. A recipient of nine battle stars, he narrowly escaped death when his plane was shot down in the South Pacific in 1945. When the war was over, Sonny resumed his professional football career, playing for the Giants in their 1946, 1947, and 1948 seasons.

Sadly, George “Sonny” Franck passed away from acute leukemia in January, 2011, at the age of 92. But throughout his career as an educator, he was a genuine Chalkboard Champion.

Science teacher and retired US Marine Sequoia Aldredge speaks about resilience

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Here is an inspirational video about resilience, for both teachers and students. The message was delivered by Sequoia Aldridge at the 8th Annual Teach for America Gala in Washington, DC, in 2018. This exceptional educator knows a great deal about her topic, having lost her mother when she was only 11 years old.

Sequoia distinguished herself with a career in the US Marines that spanned 30 years and included combat deployment in Iraq. Once she retired from the military, she became a middle school science teacher through Teach for America. Sequoia is a true Chalkboard Champion, through and through.

Here is more about her story from Sequoia herself.

Teacher Pearle Ludwig continued to contribute, even after retirement

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Elementary school teacher Pearle Ludwig continued to tutor, train student teachers, and author books, even after her retirement. Photo Credit: Legacy.com

Many dedicated educators continue to teach and contribute to the profession, even after retirement. One of these is Pearle Ludwig, an elementary teacher from San Bernardino, California.

Pearle was born on Feb. 28, 1928, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised at Waveney Farms in Framingham. She attended elementary and high school there. As a high school graduate, she enrolled at Framingham State University, where she earned her Master’s degree in Education. Then she relocated to Southern California, where she accepted a teaching position in the San Bernardino Unified School District. She taught first at Parkside Elementary and then at Arrowhead Elementary.

Upon her retirement, Pearle continued to work with students at the Learning Center at Belvedere Elementary School in Highland. “Nurturing a child’s self-esteem and fostering and recognizing the dignity of a person is the single most important thing a teacher can do for a student,” Pearle once said. “This I feel is the most important funciton of a good teacher and a good school.”

In addition to tutoring, Pearle also volunteered with the Humane Society teaching groups of children about wildlife, especially bears. She supervised student teachers at California State University, San Bernardino, and she fostered the growth of colleagues through her membership in Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), a professional organization for women educators.

In addition to her work with students and teachers, Pearle authored Excellence for Kids, a professional text on educational pedagogy published in 2009. She also wrote children’s books, including Safari, inspired by a vacation that Pearle and her husband, Glen, enjoyed in Kenya. She also penned Sammy the Cricket and Green is Growing.

This amazing educator passed away on Jan. 29, 2022, in San Bernardino. She was 93 yers old.

 

RI teacher Nicolle Greene garnered PAEMST Award

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Elementary teacher Nicolle Greene of Warwick, Rhode Island, garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching in 2020.  Photo Credit: PAEMST

It is always exciting when a fellow educator earns recognition for their work from the President of the United States. Nicolle Greene, an elementary school teacher from Rhode Island, earned this recognition in 2020, when she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching (PAEMST).

At the time of her ward, Nicolle Greene had been teaching elementary school for 25 years, all in the Warwick Public School District in Warwick, Rhode Island. For the last five years of those, she served as a Math Interventionist at Holliman Elementary School. Prior to that she taught third grade and Special Education at E.G. Robertson Elementary School.

As an educator, Nicolle has a reputation for being passionate about helping her students love mathematics and recognizing its relevance in their everyday lives. She works to ensure mathematics is presented in a context that is meaningful and engaging to her students, provides a classroom culture that promotes student engagement and discourse, and encourages mathematical thinking that meets the needs of all students which enables them to be successful learners in her classroom.

In addition to her work with students, Nicolle provides professional development for colleagues, modeling lessons within the classroom, and serving as a member of school and district leadership teams. She also has been active within her state through various initiatives with the Rhode Island Department of Education and as President-Elect for the Rhode Island Mathematics Teachers Association (RIMTA). Most recently, Nicolle collaborated with Berkeley Everett, creator of Math Flips, to facilitate a session for RIMTA’s Annual Spring Conference.

The honored educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education and her certificate as a Mathematics Specialist, all from Rhode Island College. She also earned her Master’s degree in Reading and Literacy from Providence College.

In addition to her PAEMST honors, in 2015, Nicolle was recognized as Warwick’s District Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Nicolle!

To learn more about the Awards, click on this link to PAEMST.

Idaho speech therapist Deborah Wieser created books and games for Special Ed students

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Idaho speech therapist and author Deborah Wieser published stories and games to help special education students. Photo Credit: Daily Bulletin

In addition to teachers, there are many talented individuals who make up a school community. Speech therapists are among these Chalkboard Champions. One of the most inspirational speech therapists I have ever read about was Deborah Wieser, who worked in schools in the Inland Empire area of Southern California.

Deborah was born on Feb. 8, 1949, in Butte, Montana. She was the elder of two daughters born to Eddie and Florence Thomas. When her younger sister, Kemera, was diagnosed with a developmental disability, Deborah devoted her spare hours to helping to care for the child. This volunteer work is what led to her decision to work with Special Education students.

While attending high school in Butte, Deborah excelled in her classes and served her school as a cheerleader. After graduating with honors in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Montana, Missoula, Deborah moved to Southern California, where she inaugurated her career as a speech therapist in the Chino Unified School District. Her career there spanned an impressive 45 years.

In addition to her work as a speech therapist, Deborah authored several books and created educational games to help teach the learning-disabled. For these efforts, she earned the first-ever Speech Therapist of the Year Award from Chino Unified Schools.

In 2016, Deborah retired and moved to Coer D’Alene, Idaho, where she continued to work with challenged students on a part-time basis. While living there, she formed a friendship with Atsuko Kroetch, a visual artist who designed and created the stained glass windows for the Coeur D’Alene carousel. Deborah wrote accompanying stories for the decorative pieces. Then she worked tirelessly for several months visiting every fifth grade class in her town to read the stories and collect names for the carousel ponies from the students. After the students cast ballots for the names, Deborah organized judges to select the final winning names.

Sadly, Deborah passed away on March 27, 2022, from a prolonged battle with metastatic lung cancer. But she will always be a Chalkboard Champion in our book.