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.

Educator Jack Reavis makes bid for seat in Oklahoma State House of Representatives

Posted on by
Jack Reavis

Veteran educator Jack Reavis makes a bid for a seat in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives.

In this year’s mid-term elections, there are many educators running hotly contested political races. One of them is teacher Jack Reavis, who is bidding for a seat in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. Last June, the veteran educator won the Democratic primary for District 14. In the November election, Jack will face Republican candidate Chris Sneed.

Jack has dedicated the last 24 years of his life working as a high school history teacher for Muskogee High School in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He plans to use his skills as an educator to succeed in the House, if elected. “In my life, learning the art of listening has been essential to building relationships built on mutual trust,” declares Jack. Furthermore, he asserts, “We can make our government work, but we have to participate in the process.”

Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies Education and a Master of Arts degree in American Studies. He earned both from Northeastern State University located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Jack is particularly interested in policies that affect public education and health care. He wants to see a return of the seven hospitals and numerous health care facilities that have left his part of the state in the last two years. “If you’re a single mother in northeastern Oklahoma, you shouldn’t have to take a full day off work and lose that day’s pay, just to take a sick child with an ear-ache to a clinic,” Jack says. “If we truly are pro-life—and I am pro-life, not just pro-birth—you need to support the programs that support life after a child is born, including public education and healthcare.”

To learn more about Jack Reavis, visit his website at www.reavisforhouse.com.

Educator Aimy Steele runs for seat in the North Carolina State House of Representatives

Posted on by
Aimy Steele

Spanish teacher and high school principal Aimy Steele runs for office in the North Carolina State House of Representatives.

Today’s political environment offers many opportunities for educators to run for offices of public service. One educator who has decided to do this is Aimy Steele, a Spanish teacher and high school principal who is making a bid for a seat in the North Carolina State House of Representatives.

“I spent years thinking if there was a teacher or principal at the decision-making table—someone who could really inform lawmakers about how proposed laws would really impact students and teachers – perhaps they would make different decisions,” explains Aimy. Now, the veteran educator believes she can be the one who makes that difference.

Aimy earned her Bachelor’s in Spanish Language Education in 2002, her Master’s in School Administration in 2013, and her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in 2017, all from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Aimy inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a Spanish teacher at Northwest Cabarrus High School, where she worked from 2008-2011. She spent the next year as a Principal Intern at Central Cabarrus High School, and in 2013, she was appointed the Assistant Principal of Instruction at Cox Mills Hill School in Concord, North Carolina. From 2014 to the present she has served as the Principal of Beverly Hills High school in Concord.

Aimy is the only Democrat who is running to represent District 82. Her goal is to unseat the Republican incumbent Linda Johnson, who is currently serving as the Chairman of the North Carolina House Education Committee. “As a woman of color, I want to bring diverse voices into our state legislature by talking to constituents and making sure their voices are heard,” expresses Aimy. “I want to let them know that not only does their vote matter, but their voices, their suggestions and their opinions matter too. That’s one thing I specifically want to change,” she concludes.

You can learn more about Aimy on her website at www.aimysteele.com.

Congressional candidate Julia Peacock: “I’m just a teacher”

Posted on by
Julia Peacock

California educator Julia Peacock is bidding for a seat in the US Congress.

Today’s political climate has given rise to a number of capable and determined educators who have thrown their hats in the ring for public office. One of these is Democrat Julia Peacock, a California teacher who is bidding for a place in the US Congress representing District 42. If she gets elected, she will successfully unseat Republican Ken Calvert, who has occupied the office for the past 25 years.

Julia inaugurated her career as a public school teacher in Moreno Valley, where she taught junior high school. After ten years there, she moved to a position at Boys Republic, a school for incarcerated boys, where she taught reading intervention and the GED program. Currently, Julia works in the Perris Union High School District, where she teaches reading intervention and sophomore English. “I have always worked in low-income, high-risk schools because I believe education is the great equalizer when it comes to being able to change your life circumstances for the better,” explains the veteran educator.

Among the causes that Julia is most passionate about is education, health care, the environment, women’s rights, gun reform, and veterans’ benefits.

Julia currently serves as a delegate for the National Education Association. She is also a member of the Perris Secondary Educators’ Association, and a member of the UCLA Alumni Association. She resides in Corona, California, with her husband and two children.

To learn more about candidate Julia Peacock, view the video below. You can also visit her website at www.peacockforcongress. 

Teacher Jeanie Smith makes bid for seat in Kentucky State Senate

Posted on by
Jeanie Smith

Jeanie Smith, a junior high school social studies teacher, runs for office in the Kentucky State Senate.

This election year there are numerous opportunities for civic-minded educators to work towards important social changes. One educator hoping to do this is Jeanie Smith, a junior high school social studies teacher who is running for office in the Kentucky State Senate.

Jeanie is a graduate of Western Kentucky University, where she earned her degree in history and social studies in 2005. As a young woman, she and her husband served as missionaries in Australia, where she developed an outreach program for the needy, managed a food bank, and worked with her church to foster a greater sense of community. She also created a Sunday School curriculum for children there.

When Jeanie and her husband returned to the United States, the couple settled in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she began working with a local farmers’ market to establish a program that would help low-income families have access to fresh locally grown foods.

Jeanie has been in the classroom for five years. She currently teaches 7th grade history courses at Drakes Creek Middle School in the Warren County Pubic School System located in Bowling Green.

This indefatigable educator is seeking election to Kentucky’s 32nd District. Her goal is to unseat the Republican incumbent, Mike Wilson. “Teachers see the realities of our communities,” the candidate asserts. “We put food in backpacks to send home on weekends. I have students with parents in jail, students with parents working two jobs. And I realized we can do better. We need lawmakers who understand the middle class and those striving for middle class. Who better to do that than a teacher?”

If elected, Jeanie says she will advocate for increased pay for the hardworking families of Kentucky and create an improved tax system. She is opposed to a new charter school law and a state pension system that’s grossly underfunded.

To learn more about this amazing educator, see her campaign website at Jeanie Smith for Kentucky.com.

Jahana Hayes: 2016 Teacher of the Year and candidate for Congress

Posted on by
Jahanna Hayes

Government and history teacher Jahana Hayes runs for Congressional office as the representative for Connecticut’s 5th District.

In this year’s hotly-contested mid-term elections a record number of impressive teachers are running for public office. One of these is Connecticut’s Jahana Hayes, who was honored in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama. Jahana is running for a seat in the US House of Representatives in her quest to serve Connecticut’s 5th District. If elected in November, Jahana will become the first African American woman of either party to represent part of New England in Congress.

Jahana was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 8, 1973. Because her mother was a drug addict, Jahana was raised by her grandmother, and they lived in public housing projects in Waterbury. Even though Jahana became a teen mother at age 17, she overcame her obstacles and worked hard in school. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Southern Connecticut State and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Saint Joseph. In 2014, she earned her Sixth-Year Certificate from the University of Bridgeport School of Education.

Jahana accepted her first teaching position at Southbury Training School in Connecticut. Later she relocated to John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, where she taught government and history. In addition, she served as the chairperson of the Kennedy SOAR Review Board, a program for gifted students.

In 2015, Jahana garnered the John F. Kennedy Teacher of the Year award, and then the Waterbury School District Educator of the Year honors. In 2016, the teacher with the dazzling smile was named Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year. The same year President Obama recognized her as the National Teacher of the Year.

Below, view a 4 1/2-minute YouTube video of Jahana taken when she appeared at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in New York.