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.

Illinois teacher Irene Hunt became an acclaimed author

Posted on by

Illinois teacher Irene Hunt became an acclaimed author. Photo credit: Bookologymagazine.com

Many teachers are familiar with the historical novels of Irene Hunt: Across Five Aprils, Up a Road Slowly, and The Lottery Rose, for example. But did you know that she was also a distinguished teacher?

Irene was born on May 18, 1907, in Pontiac, Illinois. As a young girl, she spent a great deal of time with her grandfather, who spent countless hours recounting stories of his childhood during the Civil War. These stories eventually became the basis of her historical novels.

Irene earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1939, and her Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1946. She taught English and French in public schools in Oak Park, Illinois, from 1930 to 1945. For the next four years she taught psychology at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. Then she returned to teaching in public schools in Cicero, Illinois, from 1950 to 1969, when she retired to write full time.

Irene’s first book, and her signature work, was Across Five Aprils, published in 1964, when she was 57 years old. The volume garnered high critical acclaim, winning the Follett Award and being named the sole Newbery honor book of 1965 by the American Library Association. It was followed by Up a Road Slowly, published in 1966, which received the Newbery Medal, among other honors.

Irene was a pro at using historical novels in the classroom. She once said, “While teaching social studies to junior high school students, I felt that teaching history through literature was a happier, more effective process.”

Irene Hunt passed away on Mary 18, 2001. It was her 94th birthday. To read more about her, see this biography at Bookology.

Nebraska music educator Anna Sake earns prestigious honors

Posted on by
Anna Sake

Music educator Anna Sake of Palmer, Nebraska, has been honored as a 2024-2025 recipient of a Performing Arts Educator Award by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Photo credit; Anna Sake

There are many exceptional educators working with young people in schools throughout the nation. One of them is Anna Sake, a music educator from Nebraska. She has been honored as a 2024-2025 recipient of a prestigious Performing Arts Educator Award by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

Anna is the K-12 Music Director at Palmer Public Schools, a rural district located in the town of Palmer in the southern central region of Nebraska. The courses she teaches include K-6 general music, 5th and 6th beginning band, junior high band and choir, and high school band and choir. She is well-known for her innovative teaching and her community engagement. She has led her students to achieve superior ratings in district and regional festivals, and her service in state organizations and her efforts to mentor young educators underscore her dedication to fostering a lifelong love of music in her students, say NFHS officials.

Anna, a Nebraska native, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Nebraska’s Wayne State College in 2011. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Wayne State College in 2019. She hold minors in Trumpet, Percussion, and Voice.

The National Federation of State High School Associations, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leader and advocate for high school athletics as well as fine and performing arts programs. The organization serves 19,500 high schools and more than 12 million young people in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Each year, the NFHS honors one nominee in each state, honoring music educators that exemplify significant contributions to the music education in the areas of organization, service, and professionalism.

VA teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case

Posted on by

Virginia science teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case. Photo credit: Black Then

Often times teachers are at the forefront of movements that benefit entire groups of people in our society. One of these teachers was educator Aline Black Hicks, a high school science teacher who launched an important civil rights court case about equal pay.

Aline was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 23, 1906. As a young girl, she attended Booker T. Washington High School in her home town. After her graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. The school is known today as Virginia State University. Aline earned her Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1935.

The neophyte educator inaugurated her career as a teacher when she accepted a position at her alma mater, Booker T. Washington, in 1924. She taught science and chemistry. As an African American, she earned only two-thirds the salary earned by a white teacher doing the same job. Although it was later determined to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this was a common practice in that time.

In 1939, Aline filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk School Board, asking that they base teachers’ salaries on experience and education rather than race. She had the backing of the Norfolk Teachers Association, the Virginia State Teachers Association, and the NAACP. One of her attorneys was Thurgood Marshall, who later became an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Aline was fired in retaliation for her lawsuit. Once she was no longer employed by the school district, her case was dismissed. However, her lawyers took the case forward with another local teacher, Melvin O. Alston. Eventually the case went all the way to tour nation’s highest court, where the issue was eventually decided in favor of the African American plaintiffs.

In 1941, the Norfolk School board rehired Aline to teach at the school where she had formerly worked. From 1970 to 1973, she worked at Jacox Junior High School as an Instructional Development Specialist until she retired in 1973.

In 2008, Aline was named a Notable African Americans in Virginia History by the Library of Virginia. In 1971, she garnered the Norfolk “Backbone Award” by the Education Association for her contribution to financial, educational and social equality.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in Norfolk on August 22, 1974. To read more about her, consult this article in Encyclopedia Virginia.

Matthew Winheim named CA 2025 State Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Middle school STEM educator Matthew Winheim has been named the 2025 California State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Flight Test Historical Foundation

I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned honors for his work in the classroom. One of these is Matthew Winheim, a STEM teacher from California. He has been named his state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Matthew teachers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to middle schoolers at the Space and Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration (SAGE) Magnet Academy. The school is part of the Palmdale School District located in Southern California. There Matthew integrates aeronautics in his STEM course to inspire the next generation of innovators and aviators.

One of his most notable accomplishments was helping to create and establish a high school math course in collaboration with a community college. This course reduced the need for remediation and prepared students for success in STEM careers. 

In addition, Matthew is a veteran of the US Air Force. And his commitment to the military community continues, even though he has been discharged. To this end, he serves as the president of a nonprofit called the Edwards Air Force Base Civilian-Military Support Group. The organization supporting active–duty military personnel and their families in the community.

His selection as California’s Teacher of the Year is not the only honor Matthew has earned. In 2022, he was honored as a “Hometown Hero” at the Edwards Open House and STEM Expo, where he flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Matthew earned his Associate of Science degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the Community College of the Air Force in 2000. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Mathematics from California State University, Bakersfield, in 2002. He earned his Master’s degree in Mathematics Education from Western Governors University in 2008. His career as an educator spans more than 20 years.

 

Teacher Clara Comstock helped orphan children find homes

Posted on by
Clara Comstock

Teacher Clara Comstock, second from right, with a colleague and a group of homeless children she escorted on an Orphan Train. Circa 1910. Photo credit: Children’s Aid Society

Throughout our country’s history there are many examples of dedicated educators going above and beyond in order to help young students, both inside the classroom and in their personal lives. One of these was Clara Comstock, a hardworking teacher from New York who helped placed more than 12,000 orphan children into loving homes.

Clara was born on July 5, 1879, in Hartsville, New York, the daughter of hardy pioneer stock. Her father was a farmer and blacksmith. As a young girl, Clara was educated at the Canisteo Academy in the neighboring town of Canisteo, New York. She graduated in 1895 at the age of 16 and spent the next several years completing her teacher training courses.

Clara inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1903 at the Brace Memorial Farm School in Valhalla, New York. Her students were New York City “street Arabs,” homeless boys that were orphaned, abandoned, or removed from their homes because their parents were deemed unfit or unable to adequately care form them. At the Farm School, these kids were taught fundamental literacy skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, some vocational training, including carpentry, shoe-making, and box-making.

After a few years, in order to be of greater service to homeless kids, Clara accepted a position with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists today to benefit needy children. The CAS organized the famous Orphan Trains, small groups of children that were transported west and placed in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. Clara escorted many of these groups, conducted background checks on prospective foster parents, and made periodic checks on the children she placed. She did this work until her retirement in 1928, then she spent another two decades working for the CAS in-state foster care program.

During her lifetime, Clara placed more than 12,000 homeless children in homes, painstakingly keeping track of each one of them until they reached adulthood. She kept a personal diary and filled several trunks with meticulous records of the children she worked with. Decades later, these records became invaluable resources for Orphan Train riders who were seeking information about their origins.

You can read more about this amazing and dedicated teacher and the orphan train system in my book Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon.