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.

WI teacher Cindy Stetzer earns prestigious PAEMST

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I am always excited to shine a spotlight on an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in public school classrooms. Today, I highlight the story of outstanding science teacher Cindy Stetzer of Galesville, Wisconsin. Recently she was named a recipient of a prestigious PAEMST (Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching) from former President Joe Biden. Cindy teaches at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School (G-E-T High School) in her rural community. To learn more about this remarkable teacher, view this video:

Janet Damon named Colorado state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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High school history teacher and Teacher Librarian Janet Damon has been named Colorado’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.  Photo credit: Colorado League of Charter Schools

I am always excited to share the story of a superlative teacher who has received recognition for their work with young people. Today I share the story of Janet Damon, a high school Social Studies teacher and Teacher Librarian who has been named the 2025 Teacher of the Year for her home state of Colorado.

Janet has worked as a teacher, literacy interventionist, and teacher librarian in the Denver Public School District. She has taught in the district for more than 25 years. Currently, she teaches history at DELTA High School. 
 
Her lessons focus on inquiry, research, and digital storytelling. In her courses, students create solutions to problems faced by their communities. For example, they create podcasts to advocate for issues such as homelessness, gun violence, incarceration, inflation, immigration, racism, health care, and drug addiction. 
 
In addition to her work in the classroom, Janet founded a nonprofit she calls Afros and Books. The organization supports access to books for marginalized individuals in her community. Through this program, young people participate in family reading adventures in the Colorado outdoors. In these adventures, young people engage in hiking, kayaking, archery, yoga, fly–fishing, and birding while receiving new books for summer reading. Janet founded the organization in 2015.

In addition to all this, Janet writes a blog for multicultural mothers which she hopes helps promote cross-cultural experiences and support friendships and community among women in diverse communities. She calls this blog MixMomma. Read more about this at Voyage Denver.

Janet’s selection as her state’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition she has earned. She received the CorePower Yoga Teacher Scholarship and the Extraordinary Teacher Award from Suntec Concrete in 2024; the African Americans Who Are Making a Difference Award in 2023; the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award in 2022 and the inaugural Making Our Futures Brighter Award in 2022; and the Library Journal Mover and Shaker Award 2020. She has also earned the Facing History fellowship and Fund for Teachers fellowship.

Janet earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from Metropolitan State University in 2000. She earned her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver in 2005. She also completed the requirements for her Educational Specialist’s degree in Leadership for Educational Organizations from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2010. 

Your child, and their teacher, would enjoy reading Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles

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If you’re looking for some reading material for your child, or you would like to buy a gift for your child’s teacher, I suggest my most recent book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, which is now available in both paperback and ebook versions from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. This is my first novel for young people. But the volume has also garnered praise from adults who have read it and loved it!

In the book, I have created a charming cast of animal characters and their human companions who live in or visit the local dog park. Each event which takes place holds an essential message about kindness, community, inclusion, and personal responsibility. There are also messages of anti-bullying and anti-prejudice.

In addition, the narrative includes commentary about how young people can appreciate nature, even if they live in a suburban environment. I explore themes related to the migratory patterns of Canada geese, the natural instincts of the animal characters, and the progression of the seasons.

The dog park described in the novel, Vila Borba, really exists! It is located not far from my home in Chino Hills, California. And depicted on the cover of the book are two of my very own pets! The little white terrier mix on the front cover is Kurby, whose rescue story is described in Chapter 4. (In the book the Kurby character is named Bowser.) The elegant black and white tuxedo pictured on the back cover is my own ladycat, Licorice.

This 156-page book would make a terrific book for your children or their teacher to read.

Former President LBJ once taught junior high English

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President Lyndon B. Johnson, our nation’s 36th president, was a teacher for English-language learners in Texas before he went to Washington, DC. Photo credit: LBJ Presidential Library

The role of Lyndon B. Johnson as our nation’s 36th president is well-known, but did you know that he used to be a school teacher? Before he launched his career in politics and went to Washington, DC, LBJ taught English language learners at a junior high school in Texas.

In 1928, LBJ needed a way to pay for his education at Southwest Texas State College. To do this, he accepted a position as a teacher at Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas, a town on the US southern border. There he taught English as a second language to Spanish-speaking junior high school students.

Despite the language barrier between himself and his students, the future president proved to be an enthusiastic and inspirational teacher, organizing speech and debate tournaments and other activities to help the youngsters learn English. “I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School,” Johnson once remarked. “I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American,” he said.

When LBJ became president in 1963, he didn’t forget his days as an educator. While in office, he passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965. The legislation granted federal aid to students in elementary grades to achieve his goal of ensuring that every child received a quality education.

To read LBJ’s own words about his teaching experiences, follow this link to “LBJ the Teacher” on Humanities Texas.