Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
First-year kindergarten teacher Blake Fingalsen garners prestigious award
I just love to tell stories about remarkable teachers who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is kindergarten teacher Blake Fingalsen of Kansas. Blake has just been named the 2020 Horizon Award Winner by the Kansas State Department of Education. Blake teaches at Rhein Benninghoven Elementary School.
The Horizon Award program is designed to identify and recognize talented first-year educators at both the elementary and secondary levels. Here’s an inspirational video about this remarkable teacher.
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Teachers who inspire…
Alaska’s Lyda Green: Educator and State Senator
Alaska’s Lyda Green: Educator and State Senator.
Many fine educators also make excellent politicians. An example of this is Lyda Green, a high school teacher from Alaska who has also been elected to her State Senate.
Lyda was born October 16, 1938, in Livingston, Texas. As a young girl, she attended Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas. She graduated in 1956. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, in 1959. She earned a Slingerland Language Arts Certification from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in 1988.
Once she completed her education, Lyda accepted a position as a teacher at West High School. She worked there from 1963 to 1964. In 1991, she accepted a position as an instructor’s assistant at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Matanuska Susitna Community College from 1991 to 1993. In addition, Lyda served as a member of the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education (1991-1994). She was named by the Alaska Department of Education to serve on their special Education Regulations Task Force (1993-1994). Later she owned her own tutoring business she called The Study.
In 1994, the former educator was elected to the Alaska State Senate on the Republican ticket. She represented the Matanuska Susitna Borough until 2009 for four terms. From 2007 to 2008 she served as the Senate President. Now 81, Lyda lives in Wasilla with her husband, Curtis.
To read more about Lyda Green, see this link from the Alaska State Senate.
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Wisconsin’s Eugene Powers: The school counselor a cut above the rest
Wisconsin’s Eugene Powers, a school counselor a cut above the rest.
When honoring our nation’s Chalkboard Champions, we should remember that school counselors are members of the category, too. These hardworking, dedicated professionals toil tirelessly on behalf of students, their families, and even their colleagues. One of these champions is Eugene Powers of Wisconsin.
Eugene Scott Powers was born on Oct. 26, 1958, in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated with honors from Proctor High School. He attended both Golden Valley Lutheran College and Concordia University. He earned his degree in Psychology, cum laude. He later graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Superior, with a double Master’s degree in K-12 School and Community Counseling.
Eugene worked as a school counselor from 1998 to 2020, most recently at Superior High School in Superior, Wisconsin. There he went above and beyond in his efforts to come to the aid of his most needy students. Parent Timothy McGrady remembers Eugene with great affection. “He was the school counselor for all of my sons at Superior High School,” McGrady recalls. “When I moved to Superior in 2009 with my autistic son who was seventeen at the time, I didn’t have housing, making me a homeless veteran with disabled son. We lived at a campground in a tent,” McGrady continued. “The first time I met Mr. Powers, it was when my son enrolled at the school for that year. Mr. Powers, after we were done, reached into his pocket and took $145.00 out of his wallet and gave it to me, apologizing that he didn’t have more,” McGrady described. “When I had the money to repay him, he refused to take it. Eugene Powers was a truly a cut above the rest. May his memory be eternal,” McGrady concluded.
This dedicated school counselor passed away on Jan. 17, 2020. He will be interred next to his wife, who preceded him in death, at Industrial Cemetery in Culver, Saint Louis County, Minnesota. To read more about Eugene, view this obituary published in the Duluth News Tribune.
