Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Teacher, principal, and actress Kami Cotler, Elizabeth of The Waltons
Kami Cotler is probably best known for her role as Elizabeth on the hit show The Waltons. After ten years on the program, she became a teacher and principal in California. Photo credit: MeTV.
I often discover dedicated educators who have also earned acclaim in Hollywood. One such teacher is Kami Cotler, who is known to many as the actress who played Elizabeth Walton on the television series The Waltons.
Kami was born on June 17, 1965, in Long Beach, California. Kami was only seven years old when she landed the role of the youngest Walton child on The Waltons. She spent ten years of her childhood on the show, and she has returned to Hollywood to portray Elizabeth in each of the show’s reunion movies. In addition, she occasionally makes speeches and personal appearances.
As a young woman, Kami earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Once she completed her education, she launched her career as an educator at a small rural school in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia. There she taught for ALPHA, an interdisciplinary alternative program designed to assist at-risk high school students.
In 2001, Kami returned to California where she accepted a position as a teacher at Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, a suburb of Los Angeles. She taught ninth grade there. In 2004, the former actress became the Co-Director of the Ocean Charter School, a position she held until 2007. That year she inaugurated her own business as a consultant. Later she served as the Principal of Environmental Charter Middle School located in Los Angeles County. The school is part of a network of free public schools in underserved communities of south Los Angeles that prepares students for four-year college. The school’s instructional program offers a focus on experiential learning and uses the environment to engage students and prepare them to become leaders in their communities. Kami has also served as a Board Member of the American Montessori Society.
To learn more about this remarkable educator, see this interview published by MeTV.
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Miami teacher Lizbet Martinez: She came to the US on a raft
Florida music educator Lizbet Martinez fled the repressive Castro regime and came to the United States on a raft when she was just a child. Photo credit: The Buffalo News.
Many dedicated educators can share a personal history of overcoming great adversity. One is Lizbet Martinez, an elementary school teacher who, when she was just a child, fled the repressive Castro regime to come to the United States on a raft.
Lizbet was only 12 years old when she braved the dangers of the sea to immigrate to this country from her home island of Cuba on nothing more than a raft. She was one of more than 30,000 Cubans who made this treacherous journey during what is known as the “balsero crisis” of 1994. Lizbet and her family were plucked from the waters by the US Coast Guard on Aug. 21, 1994. At the time, the child was clutching a violin case, which the Americans discussed confiscating because they believed the case might contain a weapon. To prove them wrong, Lizbet opened the case, pulled out her violin, and began to play The Star Spangled Banner. Before the family fled the Castro regime in Cuba, she was studying violin at Alejandro Garcia Caturla Conservatory in Havana. After their rescue, the Martinez family and other refugees spent five months at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base before being relocated to Miami.
When she grew up, Lizbet enrolled at Florida International University in Miami. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 2003. Cuban-American singer Willy Chirino offered her with a $3,000 scholarship to help pay for her college expenses. At her college graduation, she was asked to performed the national anthem to open the commencement ceremonies. Later, Lizbet performed with music stars Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada. She also performed for President Bill Clinton and George H. Bush.
The aspiring teacher completed her student teaching assignment at Emerson Elementary School located in Westchester, Florida, and at Coral Reef High School in Miami. At the grade school, she taught basic music skills. At the high school, a magnet school for teenagers interested in music, she conducted the string orchestra.
Lizbet became a teacher at Emerson Elementary school. She also taught at M.A. Milam K-8 Center, where she was a music instructor until budget cuts cancelled the school;s music program. She then taught English.
To read more about this remarkable educator, see this story published by The Buffalo News.
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An April Fool’s Day prank
It’s April Fool’s Day! After returning to the classroom following a year in quarantine, many teachers might want to show off their sense of humor for their students. Here is a great example of one teacher who can “school” us all in how it’s done. He is Matthew Weathers, a math professor at Biola University in California. He created this prank for students in his Nature of Mathematics class. Enjoy the 2:47 minute video from You Tube.
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North Dakota’s JoNell Bakke: Special Ed teacher and politician
Special Education teacher JoNell Bakke has also served several terms in the North Dakota State Senate. Photo credit: North Dakota Legislative Branch.
Because of their highly developed leadership skills, hardworking classroom teachers often earn acclaim in the political realm. One such teacher is JoNell Bakke, an educator from Grand Forks, North Dakota, who also served multiple terms in her state’s Senate.
JoNell earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary/Special Education in 1973 and her Master’s of Education in 1997, both from the University of North Dakota. After earning her degrees, she worked as an eighth grade special education teacher at Elroy Schroeder Middle School in her home city of Grand Forks. Her career spanned the years of 1983 to 2013.
After many years in the classroom, JoNell was elected on the Democratic ticket to the North Dakota State Senate, where she represented the 43rd District from 2007 to 2009, and from 2019 to present day. There she served on the committees for Education, the Commission on Juvenile Justice, the Human Services Committee, and the Committees for Judiciary, Transportation, and Long-Term Care.
In addition to her work in schools and in the legislature, JoNell has lent her considerable talent to a number of civic organizations. She has served as the President of the Grand Forks Education Association and as a member of the Board of the North Dakota Education Association. She also served as the Chair of the North Dakota Women’s Network and as the Vice Chair of the Board of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. Furthermore, she completed a lengthy stint as the Chair of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Board of Examiners (NCATE) and as a member of the State Mentoring Trainer for Teacher Support System.
To read more about JoNell, see her web page at North Dakota Legislative Branch.
