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.

ME teacher Nancie Atwell, first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize

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English teacher Nancie Atwell of Maine became the first recipient ever of the Global Teacher Prize. Photo credit: Nancie Atwell

One of the most inspirational teachers in American history is Nancie Atwell, an English teacher from Maine who was named the first teacher ever to win a Global Teacher Prize.

Nancie discovered a love of books as a child, when she became bedridden with rheumatic fever. As an adult, she became an English teacher, inaugurating her career at a middle school in New York State in 1973.

In 1990, Nancie founded the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), a non-profit demonstration school she  organized to develop and disseminate effective classroom practices. The center’s faculty conduct seminars, write professional books and articles, and invite teachers from across the US and other countries to spend a week at the school. There they experience the center’s methods firsthand and expose students to other culture groups. So far, 97% of CTL graduates have matriculated to university.

Nancie is also a published author. Her book, In the Middle, describes her innovative reading-writing approach to reading. She also developed the curriculum for a related workshop, where her students were given the freedom to choose the subjects they write about and the books they read. The students, who may not have been readers before taking her workshop, created an average of 20 pieces of publishable writing and read 40 books each year. They also engaged in writing practice that leads to improvement in their writing and reading skills. To learn more about the Center for Teaching & Learning, examine their website at CTL.

Since 1976 Nancie has written nine books on teaching (with praise from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education), edited five collections, and delivered 120 keynote addresses on her teaching. In addition, Nancie has won awards from the Modern Language Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2011 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of New Hampshire.

In 2015, Nancie became the first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award presented by the Varkey Foundation to “one innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on their students and their community.” To learn more about the Varkey Foundation, click here.

Basketball coach Mike Hilmer garners a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year honor

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Iowa basketball coach Mike Hilmer named one of 24 high school coaches by the National Federation of High Schools. Photo credit: Mike Hilmer

I always enjoy highlighting an exceptional coach who has earned accolades for his work with young athletes. Today I shine the spotlight on Mike Hilmer, an outstanding coach from Iowa. He has been named one of 24 high school coaches from around the country who have been honored as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the NFHS (National Federation of High Schools).

Mike was raised in Forest City, Iowa. After his high school graduation, he attended Cornell College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1991. Later he earned his administrative degree online through Grand Canyon University.

Mike inaugurated his career as a physical education teacher and boys basketball coach at Iowa’s Lincoln Central High School. He then completed stints at Estherville-Lincoln Central High School as a geography teacher and boys basketball coach.

In 1999, Mike accepted a position as a teacher of US History at North Linn High School in Troy Mills, Iowa. Additionally, he served as the Activities Director there since 2006. During his tenure at North Linn, Mike coached boys and girls golf, softball, and boys basketball. In the 16 years that Mike worked at North Linn, his teams have won 234 games and lost only nine. Since 2018, North Linn has reached the Iowa State Championship every year—an amazing seven consecutive seasons—winning a state title three times, including the year 2024.

Mike;’s prowess as an exceptional coach has not escaped attention. In the 33-year span of his coaching career career, Mike had been named State Coach of the Year six times. The is in addition to his recognition as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High Schools.

This year, Mike left North Linn to become the Superintendent of Bellevue Schools in Bellevue, Iowa. He has also served on the  Board of Directors of the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association for ten years, and the IHSAA Boys Basketball Advisory Committee for six years. 

Congratulations, Mike Hilmer: A true Chalkboard Champion!

Music educator Maria “Madi” Bacon established famous San Francisco Boys Chorus

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Music educator Maria “Madi” Bacon established the famous San Francisco Boys Chorus. Photo credit: Find a Grave

During Women’s History Month, we spotlight many exemplary educators who taught in America’s schools One of them was Maria “Madi” Bacon, a music teacher who established the famous San Francisco Boys Chorus.

Madi was born on Feb. 15, 1906, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Dr. Charles Sumner Bacon, was the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Illinois, and her mother, Marie Francisca Elise von Rostorn, was an Austrian countess. Madi was the fifth child born to the couple.

As a youngster, Madi graduated from high school in 1922. While still a high school student, she met Albert Einstein and, because she was fluent in German, she became his translator when he delivered lectures at the Covenant Club in Chicago. Later, Madi earned her Bachelor’s degree in Romance Languages in 1927 and her Master’s degree in 1941, both from the University of Chicago.

Madi inaugurated her career as an art teacher at Chicago’s Hull House, and in 1928 accepted a position as a music teacher and tennis coach at the Katherine Branson School in Ross, California. In 193, she relocated to a position as a music teacher at Glencoe Public School in Glencoe, Oklahoma.

Madi’s most significant achievement was to form the San Francisco Boys Chorus, which was the country’s only boy’s opera repertory chorus at that time. Many participants in the group went on to participate in the San Francisco Opera and some became major international musical talents. She also mentored several renowned conductors, including Calvin Simmons and Kent Nagano. She also served as Dean of Roosevelt University’s School of Music for six years.

Madi Bacon succumbed to congestive heart failure on Jan. 10 in Berkeley, California, on Jan. 10, 2001. She was 94 years old. For her work as an outstanding music teacher, Madi was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. You can learn more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion from this article published by the Chicago Tribune.

Lucy Craft Laney founded first school for Black children in Augusta, GA

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Lucy Craft Laney founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia. Photo credit: Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate remarkable American schoolteachers who have made significant contributions to public schools. Today, we celebrate Lucy Craft Laney, an African American teacher who founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia.

Lucy was born on April 13, 1854, in Macon, Georgia. Even though her parents had previously been enslaved people, her father had been able to save enough money to buy freedom for himself and his wife. Therefore, all  ten children born to the couple, including Lucy, were born into freedom. Lucy learned to read at the age of four, tutored by the sister of her parents’ former slaveowner. She continued to study and attended Lewis (later Ballard) High School in Macon, Georgia. The school was run by the American Missionary Association. In 1869 she entered the first class of Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta University, where she studied to become a teacher. She earned her diploma from the school’s teacher training program in 1873.

Lucy spent the first ten years of her career as an educator in schools in Macon, Milledgeville, and Savannah, Georgia. She then relocated to Augusta, Georgia, where she founded the city’s first school for African American children in 1883. Her first class had an enrollment of only six students, but by the end of the following year, 234 students had enrolled. She was able to accommodate the increased enrollment through a generous donation from Francine Haines. To honor her benefactor, the grateful teacher changed the name of her school to the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute. For the next 50 years, Lucy served as the Principal of the Haines Institute.

Always dedicated to her community, Lucy became active in the NAACP, the National Association for Colored Women, and the Inter-Racial Commission. She also donated in efforts to integrate the community through the YMCA and the YWCA.

Sadly, Lucy Craft Laney passed away on October 23, 1933. To honor her, Jimmy Carter, then Governor of Georgia, arranged to hang her portrait and those of other influential African Americans in the Georgia State Capitol. That was in 1974. In 1992, Lucy was inducted into the halls of Georgia Women of Achievement. In 2005, the Georgia Historical Society recognized her with a historical marker at the Lucy Craft Lainey Museum of Black History in August, Georgia.

 

RI teacher Lucy Tootell served in her state’s House of Reps

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Elementary and junior high school teacher Lucy Tootell served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Photo credit: Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame

During Women’s History Month, we have the opportunity to recognize many fine classroom educators who also served their communities in a variety of capacities. Some have even gone on to make excellent politicians. One of these is Lucy Tootell, an elementary and junior high school teacher who also served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Lucy was born November 27, 1911, in Jacksonville, Illinois. Her mother was a former dramatics arts director at Rhode Island State College, now known as the University of Rhode Island. Her father was Roy Willard Rawlings, the last Republican Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. She was two years old when her family moved to the state of Rhode Island. When she became a teenager, Lucy attended South Kingstown High School for three years, but she graduated with honors from Westerly High School in 1929.

After her high school graduation, Lucy earned her Bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Rhode Island College of Education in 1933. She inaugurated her career as an educator at Roger Williams Junior High School, and later taught at the Richmond Elementary School. Later Lucy attended law school at Boston University. She also attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City during the summer of 1934, and Northwestern University, where she was offered the directorship of their renowned children’s theater.

The indefatigable educator served her community in many capacities. She served as the curator and archivist of the Kingston Little Rest Museum. She was instrumental in establishing and organizing the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, the Richmond Historical Society, and the  the Charlestown Historical Society. In addition, she was a lecturer and an author of many local history publications, books, and slide shows. Lucy also served as Council Commissioner of the Rhode Island Girl Scout Organization. In 1970, she was elected to the Richmond School Committee and, in 1972, was elected on the Republican ticket to the Rhode Island House of Representatives from Chariho District #52, where she served from 1973 until 1977.

For her tireless work on behalf of Rhode Island, Lucy was named “Woman of the Year” by the Chariho Business and Professional Women’s Club in 1974.She also garnered the “John Nicholas Brown Award,” from The League of RI Historical Societies in 1982.
In 1997, in recognition of her distinguished achievements in the field of and preservation of history, Lucy earned an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Rhode Island. In 2013, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on January 5, 2010. To read more about Lucy Tootell, see this post on the website for the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.