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.

Chalkboard Champion and Veteran Bob Dettmer Also Serves in Minnesota House of Representatives

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39A[1][1]Many a chalkboard champion has distinguished himself in fields other than education. One such educator is Robert P. Dettmer, a retired teacher who is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Bob was born in 1951 on a dairy farm in Faribault, Minnesota. He attended Bemidji State University, where he graduated in 1973 with his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He earned his master’s degree in education curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas.

Following his college graduation, he accepted his first position as a teacher at Forest Lake High School in Minnesota, where he taught physical education and coached wrestling. He worked there until 2007, when he retired after thirty-four years in the profession.

During Bob’s tenure as Head Wrestling Coach, he accumulated a record of 399-144-2. This record ranks Bob 25th out of 321 high school wrestling coaches in the state of Minnesota. Bob also has received numerous awards as an athlete and as a coach. He was named the  NAIA National Wrestling Champion. He has also been inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Bemidji State Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame,and   the David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has also earned both High School and College Athlete of the Year awards. During his career as a wrestling coach, Bob has coached 15 individual state champions, 64 individual state place winners, 115 individual state participants, one state team champion, one fourth place, and one fifth place finish. He currently officiates high school wrestling matches for the Minnesota State High School League.

Bob is also a veteran, serving in the United States Army Reserve as a Chief Warrant Officer in the military intelligence branch. In November, 2001, he began a two-year tour of active duty supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also an Army master fitness trainer for soldiers and taught many military courses for the Army. He was honored with his highest military award, The Legion of Merit, upon retirement from his twenty-five-year Army career. This award was given for exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving as Senior Intelligence Technician within the Military Intelligence Readiness Command.

In the Minnesota House of Representatives, Bob represents District 39A, located in the northeastern part of the Twin Cities Metro area. He was elected in 2006 to fill the open seat vacated by Representative Ray Vandeveer, who had made a bid for higher office that year. Bob was re-elected in 2008, 2010, and 2012. In the Minnesota House, this chalkboard champion focuses on the issues of education, health care reform, economic growth, transportation, veterans’ issues, and public safety.

Chalkboard Hero Michael Landsberry of Sparks, Nevada

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1382463286000-Michael-and-Sharon-Landsberry[1][1]Yesterday the entire educational community was saddened to learn of yet another school shooting. This one occurred when a twelve-year-old junior high school student opened fire on his classmates on a playground at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada. As a result of the shooting, our profession lost a highly respected and beloved chalkboard champion, math teacher Michael Landsberry. The teacher was shot in the chest at point blank range while attempting to persuade the student to lay down his weapon. He had stepped between the shooter and a student at which the gunman was taking aim. Two other students were hit before the shooter turned the gun on himself. Because the teacher distracted the gunman enabling many students on the playground to flee to safety, he is credited with saving as many as thirty students’ lives.
Michael Landsberry earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Nevada State University, Reno, in 2001. The forty-five-year-old had been a member of the Nevada Air National Guard and a former corporal in the Marines who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He leaves behind a wife and two stepdaughters.

Olive Mann Isbell: The Chalkboard Champion of the Mexican-American War

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P_32405[1]A little-known figure in California history is educator Olive Mann Isbell, who is credited as being the first teacher in a school conducted in English in California. In 1846, when Olive was only 22 years old, she and her husband, Dr. Isaac Isbell, traveled west by wagon train. The territory had recently been severed from Mexico, and the Isbells arrived just as the Mexican army was poised to attack in an attempt to reclaim the land.

Olive and over two hundred American women and children were barricaded inside Mission Santa Clara de Asis, while the men were quickly drafted to defend the dilapidated fort. Inside the shelter, Olive, sensing the anxiety of the children, decided to organize a school to occupy their attention. The newly-arrived pioneer was well-suited to this work, being the niece of the famous educator Horace Mann and an experienced teacher from her home state of Ohio. When  Mexico finally laid down their arms and signed a truce with the United States on January 3, 1847, Olive’s Santa Clara Mission School became recognized as the first American school on California soil. This mission school property now belongs to the University of Santa Clara.

You can read more about this amazing educator in Women Trailblazers of California: Pioneers to the Present, available on amazon. I have also included a chapter about this remarkable teacher in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available from amazon.com.

Turn-of-the-Century Chalkboard Champions Found Homes for New York City Orphans

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9780618117123_xlg[1]Have you ever heard of the Orphan Trains? During the early years of the 20th century, there were literally thousands of homeless children living aimlessly on the streets of New York City. The Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists to benefit children today, developed a method for finding loving and wholesome homes for many of these children. The CAS organized small groups of children to be transported west and placed them in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. To care for these children, the CAS recruited teachers to escort them, conduct background checks on the prospective foster parents, and make periodic checks on the children’s progress. One such teacher was Clara Comstock, born in 1879 in Hartsville, New York.
Andrea Warren has documented the phenomena of the Orphan Trains very diligently in her book, We Rode the Orphan Trains, available through amazon.com. You can also read a chapter about teacher Clara Comstock in Chalkboard Champions.

First Lady of Idaho Lori Easley Otter: Chalkboard Champion, Author, and Beauty Pageant Queen

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$RA3S5ZXMany chalkboard champions have earned recognition for successes outside of the field of education. One such amazing educator is Lori Easley Otter, the First lady of Idaho. This former teacher and administrator is married to current Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter.

Lori was born in Pensacola, Florida, in 1967, the youngest of four children in a military family. In the 1970’s, her family moved to Idaho when her father retired from the U.S. Navy. Lori graduated from Kimberly High School, and then enrolled in Boise State University, where she earned her teaching degree in education and physical education, with minors in health and English. She earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and educational administration from Northwest Nazarene University in 2004. She spent two years as an administrator.

Lori taught physical education, health, and English at both the elementary and secondary levels for the Meridian School District in Meridian, Idaho. She also coached girls basketball and volleyball at the junior high and high school levels for thirteen years. This athletic educator also runs marathons, plays tennis, and is an accomplished equestrienne.

In 1991, Lori entered the Miss Idaho USA Pageant, winning the title and representing Idaho in the Miss USA 1991 pageant the same year. During her reign as Miss Idaho USA, Lori was introduced to Butch Otter, who was then serving as lieutenant governor of Idaho. After some time teaching and coaching in Arizona, Lori returned to Idaho in 1995. In 2006, Lori and Butch were married, and later that year, Butch was elected governor of Idaho.

Combining her love of Idaho and her passion for education and literacy, this gifted educator has written three children’s books. She penned “Little Clyde – Horsing Around in Sun Valley,” and two history books, “Ida Visits the Capitol” and “Ida Tours the 44: A Book of Idaho Counties.” Lori’s character Ida Jones is a young barnstorming pilot who seeks adventure and teaches Idaho history to fourth graders as she flies her airplane through the state.