Category Archives: Education

OR educator Willie Williams garners OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education

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Social Studies teacher and Athletic Director Willie Williams garners OnPoint Excellence in Education Award. Photo credit: Instagram

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned recognition with their work with young people. One of these is Willie Williams, a Social Studies teacher and Athletics Director from Portland, Oregon. Willlie has garnered a 2023 OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award.

Willie teaches history and economics at Roosevelt High School in North Portland. His curriculum includes lessons about under-represented groups and encourages students to think critically about history and justice. Willie also serves his school as the Athletic Director and the advisor for the Black Student Union.

He has a reputation for treating everyone on campus as family. “I call everyone in my classroom family,” he says. “When I address the class in the morning, I say, ‘good morning family.’ In fact, it was his students who nominated him for the coveted OnPoint award.

The honored educator relocated to Portland from New Orleans, Louisiana, ten years ago. He enjoys sharing his native culture with his school community. He even serves Louisiana gumbo to over 1,500 students and staff every year. “It’s a week-long process,” Willie explains, “but it’s something I love doing. It’s soul food,” he continues. “I think good food makes people smile and makes them feel good. That’s what I want to see,” he concludes.

Willie is one of four teachers in Oregon who have been recognized with an OnPoint award. The other three recipients were Caryn Anderson of Portland; Lucas Dix of Milwaukee, Oregon; and Samuel Platt of Bend. As part of the award, all four honored teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year. In addition, each teacher’s school will receive a $2,500 donation. To learn more about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, visit OnPointcu.com.

Kentucky teacher Kyri Demby is also a musician, author, and motivational speaker

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Elementary school teacher Kyri Demby of Kentucky has also earned acclaim as a musician, author, and motivational speaker. Photo Credit: Kentucky Department of Education

Elementary school teacher Kyri Demby has earned a name for himself as a musician, author, and motivational speaker from Kentucky.

Kyri currently teaches music and art in grades kindergarten through five at Jacob Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky. His career as an educator spans 15 years.

As a musician, Kyri uses music to build classroom community. And he also uses his talent to benefit his community. In fact, every year on his birthday he provides a benefit concert for the Ronald McDonald House. Kyri describes himself as a gospel songwriter. He has written songs for many churches and gospel groups throughout the country.

And music is only one of this educator’s talents. Kyri has published a variety of books, including Lori Biscuit: The Musical Detective series; the Tales of the Still Quarters series; the Uncle Jabbo’s Stable series; and Demby’s Playful Parables. “As a teacher, I always tell stories to my kids,” Kyri once said. “One day I decided maybe I should write these stories down.”

For his work in the classroom, Kyri garnered a 2021 Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education by the Kentucky Department of Education. Since 2004, the award has been given to a person or group within the state that displays outstanding leadership, commitment, and service promoting equity and opportunities. The criteria for winning the award include successful efforts to close socio-economic and/or racial achievement gaps and significantly improving learning, achievement, or other measured outcomes among students of color or economically disadvantaged students. The award is named for Samuel Robinson, a former educator who served on the Kentucky Board of Education from 1991 to 2004. Robinson was known as an advocate for racial and social justice and for promoting the concept that education can make a difference in the lives of all students.

Kyri earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Teacher Education from Bethune-Cookman University in 2001. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of South Florida in 2008.

FL STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long inducted into the 2023 National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Congratulations to STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long of Florida. She has been inducted into the 2023 National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: National Teacher Hall of Fame

Hearty congratulations are due to STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long of Clermont, Florida. She has been inducted into the 2023 Class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Caryn serves as a Specialist in Educational Technology Innovation and STEM integration at Montverde Academy in Clermont, Florida. Previously, she taught STEM subjects in public elementary schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and STEM for all grade levels at NASA. Her career as an educator spans 34 years.

The honored educator says in her classroom she strives to achieve two goals: Students should love learning more than they did in previous years, and they should improve their overall attitude about learning. “I’ve often described my classroom as controlled chaos,” declares Caryn. “We dance to music allowing the kids ways to transfer complex science knowledge into long-term memory. They lean over tables and answer various levels of questions that scaffold on previous understanding,” she continues. “Providing diverse role models in the science fields is a crucial part of my kids’ education. Throughout the year, they speak to experts from NASA, NOAA, Boeing, and other agencies/businesses that can bring real world connections to the concepts they are developing,” she describes.

Caryn’s selection by the NTHF is not the only recognition she has earned. In 2021, she was named Montverde Academy Middle School Teacher of the Year. In 2019, she became a Space Educator Ambassador for the National Space Foundation, and the same year she was selected Florida’s Air Force Association STEM Teacher of the Year. In 2002, Caryn was honored as the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator, and in 2001, she was named the Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the NSTA. In 2000, she was named a Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellow.

Caryn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Queens University of Charlotte in 1988. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina in 1990. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Educational/Instructional Technology from Oklahoma State University in 2015.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia, Kansas, in 1989. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 150 educators from 41 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. To learn more, click on this link to the NTHF.

Celebrating Charlotte Forten Grimke during Black History Month

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In celebration of Black History Month, here is a short video below I created which describes a remarkable Civil War-era teacher, Charlotte Forten Grimke. This intrepid teacher and Chalkboard Champion, born into a free Black family, went to the Deep South to teach emancipated slaves, even though the Civil War was raging all around her. Watch to learn more:

TN football coach Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., garners 2023 AFCA Power of Influence Award

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Football coach Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., of Whitehaven Tennessee has garnered a 2023 AFCA Regional Power of Influence Award from the American Football Coaches Association. Photo Credit: Rodney Saulsberry

Many outstanding athletic coaches who work with our nation’s young people are deserving of recognition. One of these is Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., a football coach from Memphis, Tennessee. He is one of five coaches who have garnered a 2023  Regional Power of Influence Award from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

In a career that spans 26 years, Rodney has spent 20 of them as the Head Football Coach at Whitehaven High School in Memphis. Over the course of his career, he has led his student athletes to an overall record of 185-53, capturing two Tennessee 6A state titles (2012 and 2016), the first championships in his school’s history. Over 200 of Rodney’s former players have gone on to play college football, and 15 of them have become coaches.

In addition to his work on the field, Rodney has served on both the Board of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association and the Rules Committee for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. He has also been a speaker at various football clinics around the country, including the 2013 AFCA Convention.

In 2020, Rodney co-founded the Minority Coaches Association of Tennessee, an organization which helps high school, college, and professional coaches in Tennessee foster job opportunities and hosts clinics for continuing education.

For his work with young people, Rodney has earned many awards, including his honors as a two-time Tennessee Titans Coach of the Week; a Tennessee Titans/Shelby Metro Coach of the Year award winner in 2012 and 2016; a three-time Regional Coach of the Year; and winner of the Rex Dockery Award from the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He has also been inducted into the College Hall of Fame.

Rodney earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Austin Peay State University in 1995. He earned his Master’s degree in Teaching Mathematics from the University of Memphis in 2004.

Congrats, Rodney!