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.

Famed actress and former special education teacher Kate Capshaw

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Famed actress and former special education teacher Kate Capshaw

Many talented educators have made their mark in fields other than education. This is certainly true of former teacher Kate Capshaw, a Hollywood actress who is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. She is also married to famed director Steven Spielberg.

Kate was born on November 3, 1953, in Fort Worth, Texas, of humble origins. Her mother was a travel agent and beautician, and her father was an airline employee. When Kate was only five years old, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where in 1972 she graduated from Hazelwood Central High School.

After her high school graduation, Kate earned a Bachelor’s degree in History Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education, both from the University of Missouri. She accepted her first teaching position as a special education teacher at Southern Boone County High School in Ashland, Missouri. Later she transferred to Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. During her years as an educator, she married and divorced Robert Capshaw, a school principal. The union produced one daughter.

After some years in the classroom, Kate moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting, landing her first role on the soap opera The Edge of Night. She also starred in Dreamscape in 1984, SpaceCamp in 1996, and How to Make an American Quilt in 1995. During the filming of Indiana Jones, Kate began a relationship with Spielberg, which eventually resulted in her conversion to Judaism and her marriage to Spielberg in 1991. The couple have five children in addition to Kate’s daughter from her first marriage.

Teacher Bill Holden: He talks the talk, and he walks the walk

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holdenbridge_i[1]Often classroom teachers become advocates for social issues that extend far beyond their classroom. Such is the case with teacher Bill Holden, an educator who has worked tirelessly to increase awareness about the problem of juvenile diabetes.

Bill was born in 1948 in Elgin, Illinois. He earned his degree from Southern Illinois University in 1970. Bill accepted his first position as a teacher in 1973, and soon became interested in working with Native American students. After teaching many years in Illinois, he transferred to Camp Verde, Arizona. At Camp Verde, Bill became aware of the alarming rate of diabetes among his Native American students. Bill retired after 32 years in the classroom, but he was not done dedicating his energy to benefit his students. He decided to focus his vast energy on helping to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.

In 2005, Bill literally walked from Arizona to Chicago, a distance of 2,100 miles, with the goal of raising $250,000 in donations for the American Diabetes Association to fund research for a cure for juvenile diabetes. Bill started his walk on January 11, 2005, walking through the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. Along the way he battled arthritis in both knees, fatigue, sunburn, windburn, and stifling heat, and once he was nearly hit by a car. It took the dedicated teacher six months to complete the walk, but the effort garnered him national attention.

Bill Holden is certainly a true chalkboard champion.

Tennessee’s 2018 Teacher of the Year: Cicely Woodard

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Cicely Woodard

Tennessee’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Cicely Woodard teaches math at West End Middle School in Nashville.

Here is a truly inspirational teacher: Cicely Woodard, who teaches eighth grade math at West End Middle School in Nashville, Tennessee. She’s been named the 2018 Teacher of the Year for the state of Tennessee.

Cicely teaches her students to understand high-level math tasks through small-group discussions and plenty of writing. One of her favorite assignments is for students to solve systems with equations by having them determine the best company to clean her carpets. “They create tables and equations and graphs to compare these two companies,” she explains, “and by the end of the lesson, they have helped me choose the best company,” she continues.

“We have whole class discussions about math, where they justify their thinking and critique the reasoning of their peers,” Cicely says. “Whatever they choose to do in life, I just want them to be prepared to face challenges and face them well.”

Cicely has been teaching for 13 years in Tennessee. In addition to serving in many leadership roles within her school and district, she has also served as an adjunct instructor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, where she received her Master’s degree.

View the video below to learn more about Cicely:

Inspiration from 2018 NY Teacher of the Year Christopher Albrecht

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Here is your daily dose of inspiration. It comes from Christopher Albrecht, a fourth-grade teacher at the Fred W. Hill School in Brockport, New York. Christopher is the 2018 New York State Teacher of the Year. This amazing educator has mentored numerous student teachers and several first-year teachers. Obvioiusly, he is eager to spread his passion for the profession. View his video below:

 

Hawaii’s Vanessa Ching named State Teacher of the Year

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Meet Vanessa Ching, a middle school educator from Hawaii who was named the 2018 Teacher of the Year for her state. Vanessa graduated from Baldwin High School on Maui. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a double major in Elementary Education and Special Education. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching Leadership from the National University at San Diego and, in addition, has been named a National Board Certification in Literacy, Elementary-Middle Childhood.

In a career that has spanned 14 years so far, Vanessa inaugurated her life as an educator with the Hawaii State Department of Education as a Special Education teacher for grades K-6, teaching at Pearl Ridge, Aiea, Alvah Scott, Webling, and Waimalu Elementary Schools. Then she accepted a position at Ewa makai Middle School where she serves as the Student Activities Coordinator, Green Initiatives Coordinator, and Student Leadership and Yearbook Advisor.

“Vanessa has made a tremendous impact on the culture at Ewa Makai Middle as coordinator of Student Activities and Green Initiatives, teaching students to reduce their carbon footprints and that of the entire school,” commented Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto. “Ewa Makai is the only school statewide to have won the National Green Ribbon School certification,” Kushimoto continued. “Vanessa has done amazing work to improve the school and the Ewa community through her teaching,” the Superintendent concluded.

Vanessa’s principal, Kim Sanders, agrees that the honored teacher has been a great asset to the school. “Developing a culture of environmentally conscious students, community members, and parents, Vanessa worked to designate Ewa Makai Middle as a plastic-free school and won a refillable water station in a national contest with a powerful PSA,” Sanders remarked. “Vanessa and her students wrote grants to develop an organic garden, aquaponics, and a composting program towards becoming a waste-free school.,” Sanders described. “Her dedicated work has been an incredible learning opportunity for our students, and our entire campus and community have been improved as a whole,” Sanders concluded.

For more about this amazing educator, see the video below: