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.

WY music teacher Collin Binko garners prestigious Milken Educator Award

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Music educator Collin Binko of Jackson, Wyoming, has garnered a prestigious 2025 Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Cowboy State Daily

In an atmosphere where Fine Arts are often undervalued, there are many educators throughout our country who continuously push forward to teach these courses in their schools. One of them, Collin Binko, teaches music to students of all ages in an entire district in Jackson, Wyoming. His efforts are so appreciated, that he has been named a 2024-2025 Milken Educator.

In addition to his role as the District Fine Arts Coordinator for Teton County Public Schools. Collin also teaches courses in choir, band, orchestra, and guitar at Jackson Hole High School.

A saxophone player, Collin completed his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2013.

According to the Milken Foundation, Collin earned the honor because he uses music to inspire students in a district where a third of the learners are multilingual. He’s credited with transforming the high school Fine Arts programs at both the middle school and the high school level. In fact, he doubled the enrollment in choir courses in each grade until all his classes were full to capacity. He relates music theory to core subjects such as math and reading. Collin produced the middle school’s first musical and included high schoolers who wanted to participate, while creating partnerships between the school and community groups such as the Cathedral Voices Chamber Choir.

Collin is one of only 45 educators nationwide to be honored with a Milken Educator Award this year. These prestigious honors have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the award includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country whose work strengthens best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

 

Native American educator and Chalkboard Champion Minerva Allen of Montana

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Native American educator Minerva Crantz Allen worked in Early Childhood Education  near her childhood home on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Lodge Pole, Montana. Photo credit: Legacy.com

Throughout our country’s history, there have been notable Native American educators who have worked with young people in our schools. One of these was Minerva Crantz Allen, a member of the Assiniboine tribe from Montana.

Minerva, whose Native name was Sunk’ Pa (Chipmunk), was born on April 24, 1934, in Big Warm, located in north central Montana. Her father, Ernest Crantz Sr., was of French Chipewyan descent, and her mother, Felistis Chopwood, was born in the Gros Ventre sect of the Assiniboine tribe.

As a young child, Minerva grew up on the Fort Belknap Reservation in a traditional lodge. Montana winters were bitter cold, but the lodge was insulated with pine branches and animal hides, and a fire pit in the center of the structure kept everyone warm. The elders entertained the children through storytelling, passing down traditions and tales that Minerva would pass down to her own children and grandchildren through her poetry.

When she was only six years old, Minerva began her education, learning to speak English from missionaries. After elementary school, Minerva enrolled at Flandreau Indian High School in South Dakota. Next, she studied at Northern Montana College (now known as Montana State University, Northern), although she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University. Later she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Counseling from MSU, Northern. In addition, she earned a Master’s degree in Teaching with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.

Once she earned her degrees, Minerva inaugurated her career as an educator in the Hays Lodge Pole School District. Her work there spanned a total of 20 years. She worked primarily in the area of Early Childhood Education, and she was also extensively involved with teacher training.

In addition to her responsibilities as an educator, Minerva served on the Board of Directors at Aaniiih Nakoda College, the Bilingual Director and Federal Programs Director for Hays Lodge Pole Schools, and the President of the Montana Bilingual Education Association.

Minerva was also a celebrated author. She published of several books of poetry, including Vanishing Braves (1987), Spirits Rest (1981), Inktomi and the Ducks (1986), Stories by Our Elders: The Fort Belknap People (1983), and Nakoda Sky People (2012).

Sadly, this talented and accomplished educator passed away on May 24, 2024. She was 90 years old.

MO Business Ed teacher Theresa Taylor garners award

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High school business teacher Theresa Taylor has garnered as 2025 Regional Teacher of the Year Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Photo credit: Cape Girardeau Public Schools

It is always exciting when a member of our professional community is honored for their work in the classroom. One of these members is Theresa Taylor, a high school Business Education teacher from Missouri. She has garnered a 2025 Regional Teacher of the Year Award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Theresa currently teaches computer readiness and college readiness courses at Cape Central High School in the Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She also serves as the campus advisor for the CHS Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Furthermore, she is the building technology support provider and manages the school’s social media account. In a career that spans 25 years, she has worked at the school for 22 of them. Prior to teaching there, she taught at Delta High School.

Her passions are working to decrease the dropout rate, says Theresa. And she also spends a great deal of energy assisting first-generation and poverty-stricken students in their journey to college or trade school. To accomplish this, Theresa declares, building relationships is a priority in hr classroom.

She is also a committed lifelong learner and, over the course her career, she has attended over 70 local, state, and national conferences. She has been a presented at least 40 times. “For me, conferences and networking are the key,” Theresa confesses. “Through conferences and workshops I have been able to stay on top of the changes in technology and new teaching strategies,” she says.

Theresa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, in 1984. She earned her Master’s degree in Secondary Education from the same institution.

To lern more about Theresa, click on this link to an interview with her by the Missouri State Teachers Association.

Educator Maritcha Remond Lyons: Abolitionist and humanitarian

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Educator Maritcha Remond Lyons was an abolitionist and humanitarian. Photo credit: Public Domain

American history abounds with stories about teachers who have accomplished heroic achievements. One such teacher is Maritcha Remond Lyons, an African American woman who served the New York City public school system for 48 years. She was also an accomplished musician, an avid writer, and a published author.

Maritcha was born on May 23, 1848, in New York City, the third of five children born to parents Albro and Mary (Marshall) Lyons. She was raised in New York’s free black community, where her father operated a boarding house and outfitting store for Black sailors on the docks of New York’s Lower East Side. Her parents emphasized the importance of making the best of oneself, and they also modeled the significance of helping others.

A sickly child, Maritcha was nevertheless dedicated to gaining an education. Maritcha once said she harbored a “love of study for study’s sake.” She was enrolled in Colored School Number 3 in Manhattan, which was governed by Charles Reason, a former teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia.

Maritcha’s parents were abolitionists, and were both active in the Underground Railroad. Obviously, these activities were not without dangers. The family home came under attack several times during the New York City Draft Riots of July, 1863, when Maritcha was just a teenager. The family escaped to safety in Salem, Massachusetts, but after the danger passed, her parents insisted on sending their children to live in Providence, Rhode Island. In Providence, Maritcha was refused enrollment in the local high school because she was African American. Because there was no school for black students, her parents sued the state of Rhode Island and won their case, helping to end segregation in that state. When she graduated, Maritcha was the first Black student to graduate from Providence High School.

After her high school graduation, Maritcha returned to New York, where she enrolled in Brooklyn Institute to study music and languages, When she graduated in 1869, she accepted a teaching position at one of Brooklyn’s first schools for African American students, Colored School Number 1.

Maritcha’s worked first as an elementary school teacher, then as an assistant principal, and finally as a principal. During her nearly 50-year career, she co-founded the White Rose Mission in Manhattan’s San Juan Hill District, which provided resources to migrants from the South and immigrants from the West Indies.

This remarkable chalkboard hero passed away at the age of 80 on January 28, 1929.