Category Archives: Education

Abigail Fillmore: The First Lady who was her husband’s teacher

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Former First Lady Abigail Fillmore: She was not only the wife of President Millard Fillmore, before she married him, she was his teacher! Photo credit: National First Ladies Library

Many American Presidents and First Ladies were former school educators. One of them was Abigail Fillmore, who actually taught the school her future husband, Millard Fillmore, attended.

Millard was 19 years old and largely illiterate when he decided he needed more education. He enrolled in a school in a nearby town in the state of New York. The 22-year-old teacher was Abigail Powers. Millard, the oldest student in her class, quickly fell in love with his teacher, but he was too poor and too shy to do anything about it. Seven years after he became her student, she became his wife.

When Abigail became Millard’s teacher, she had already established herself in her career. She had been teaching for six years. In 1814, she accepted a position as a part-time school teacher at the Sempronius Village School. In 1817, she became a full-time teacher, and in 1819 she took on another teaching job and began to teach at the private New Hope Academy. When she was asked to open up a private school in Broome County, she agreed, and within a short time opened the school. In 1825, she returned to Sempronius to teach in her original position.

When Millard Fillmore was elected President in 1850, Abigail became the nation’s First Lady. In fact, because she did not follow local custom and quit her job after her marriage, she was the first First Lady who came to her new position as a woman with a prior career.

As First Lady, Abigail Fillmore created a White House library for future residents of the People’s House. With her husband, she supported education and championed hospitalization for the mentally handicapped rather than imprisonment and punishment.

To read more about this amazing First Lady, click on this link to History.com.

TX History teacher Nichole Ritchie garners Leadership Award

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Texas teacher Nichole Ritchie has garnered a 2025 Julius Glickman Educational Leadership Award from Humanities Texas. Photo credit: Nichole Ritchie.

There are many outstanding educators who have earned recognition for their work in our public schools. One of them is Texas teacher Nichole Richie. She has garnered a Julius Glickman Educational Leadership Award from Humanities Texas, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Nichole teaches courses in Texas History, US History, and World Cultures at Llano Junior High School in Llano. She has worked at the school since 2021. Prior to teaching at Llano, she taught at Hutto Independent School District in Hutto, Texas for two years.

The honored teacher its very intentional with her curriculum and instructional strategies. “My approach blends academic rigor with interactive, student-led projects—whether it’s organizing essay contests, leading historical preservation initiatives, or helping students connect local stories to global events,” declares Nichole.

Outside the classroom, Nichole collaborates with museums, civic organizations, and history advocates to promote historical literacy and increase student voice. In addition, she has devoted many volunteer hours to the Burnet Historical Commission working on a restoration project of a 1930 Texas Centennial Highway marker and coordinating a cleanup and restoration of a Reconstruction-era slave cemetery in the county.

She also completes volunteer work for the Texas Historical Association. Nichole has also worked as a judge for their Texas History Day for several years, and she has been invited to be a 2025 panelist for the Texas Digitization Process at an annual history conference to speak about the men and women in World War II.

Nichole’s selection for the Julius Glickman Award is not the only recognition she has earned. She was selected the Outstanding 7th Grade Teacher of the Year by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in 2025. The year prior she was selected Star of the Month by Region 13 and she earned the Mirabeau B. Lamar Texas History Teacher Award by San Jacinto Descendants.

Nichole earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from Northern Illinois University in 2017. She earned her Master’s degree in History from Gettysburg College in 2007.

Each year, 12 teachers are selected to receive a $5,000 cash award and an additional $1,000 for their respective schools to purchase humanities-based instructional materials. Learn more at Humanities Texas.

CTE educator Julio Mejia garners FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence

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Career and technology education (CTE) teacher Julio Mejia of New York has garnered a 2025 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence. Photo credit: FLAG Award

There are many public school teachers throughout our nation who are deserving of special recognition. One of them is Julio Mejia, a Business and Technology educator from Staten Island, New York. He is one of six teachers in New York City who has garnered a 2025 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.

Julio has taught career and technology education (CTE) electives at New Dorm high School, where he is an alumnus, for the past eight years. There he leads the school’s specialized Small Learning Community (SLC) for business and technology. To expand his students’ exposure to professional fields, Julio plans field trips and events, including Career Days. This year, he also took on the responsibilities of the school’s Work-Based Learning Coordinator. Additionally, he coaches the school’s boys volleyball team. And as if all that were not enough, he teaches a college-level business course under the auspices of the University of Delaware.

In his classroom, Julio has worked to improve curriculum so that it better serves his students’ needs and to better prepare them for real world demands. When he noticed that his freshmen already possessed a working knowledge of some of the programs taught in the computer applications course, he shifted his focus to more advanced software. Also, when he perceived a gap in students’ creative thinking, he collaborated on the development of a new marketing elective.

“As an educator, you always second guess yourself on whether or not what you’re doing is making a difference,” confesses Julio. “Having other people tell you that you’re doing a great job — and compared to other teachers throughout New York City — is definitely something that’s super exciting. I’m really grateful for this opportunity to be given what I’ve been given,” he continues.

In addition to his FLAG honors, Julio will receive a check for $25,000 which he can use any way he wishes, and his school will receive an additional $10,000 grant to fund an arts-based initiative designed by the winner.

Julio earned his Bachelor’s degree from City University of New York, College of Staten Island, in 2015.

 

Ima Wells: Teacher and member of the NM House of Reps

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Ima Wells was a beloved teacher and a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Photo credit: Legacy.com

Many outstanding educators have also achieved acclaim in political arenas. One of these is Ima Wells, a teacher who was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Ima Lee Greenwood was born on September 23, 1936, in Buffalo, Oklahoma. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NOSU). She earned her Master’s degree in Education from New Mexico State University.

While at NOSU, Ima met and married Del Wells. Once the pair graduated, Ima inaugurated her teaching career in a two-room schoolhouse in Kansas. Both she and her husband taught in southern Kansas for five years before moving to New Mexico in 1963. There Ima taught at Sandia Base in Albuquerque for ten years. She then moved to Loma Heights Elementary in Las Cruces, where she taught for 20 years.

During her lifetime, Ima worked tirelessly for her fellow educators. She served as President of the National Education Association (NEA) in New Mexico from 1987 to 1992. In the late 1990s, Ima moved to Rockford, Illinois, where she worked for NEA Illinois for five years. Then she returned to Las Cruces to work for NEA NM until she retired at the age of 72.

In 1993, Ima was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. She represented District 37 for one term.

This chalkboard politician passed away on August 10, 2014, in Loveland, Colorado. She was 77 years old. To read more about Ima, click on this link to her obituary published by the Las Cruces Sun News.

WI Special Education teacher Lisa Van Hefty earns state honors

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Special Education teacher Lisa Van Hefty of Mishicot, Wisconsin, is one of five educators who have been named a 2026 State Teacher the Year. Photo credit: O. H. Elementary School

Lisa Van Hefty, an elementary Special Education teacher from Michicot, Wisconsin, is one of five educators throughout her state who have been named a 2026 Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year!

Lisa teaches at O. H. Elementary School in the School District of Mishicot. She has worked at the school for the entire length of her 27-year career. Throughout those years, Lisa has been a Chalkboard Champion for inclusive education and student advocacy, building strong, meaningful connections with her students, families, and colleagues. Among her co-workers, Lisa has earned a reputation for creating nurturing, student-centered learning environments that foster growth, independence, and confidence.

Lisa declares that her mission has always been simple: make every student feel valued. “Just include them. They are people just like us,” she asserts. “They want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to be treated like everyone else. It’s our responsibility as citizens and community members to do that for them,” she continues.

Her colleagues say that Lisa goes to great lengths to provide a stable, encouraging learning environment for her students, ensuring they all receive appropriate and equitable lessons. She creates a sense of trust with the kids in her care and with their families to achieve educational goals that help them learn and thrive outside of the classroom. In addition, she mentors new teachers and helps them develop the necessary skills needed to become successful in their classrooms.

The Wisconsin Teacher of the Year awards are presented annually to five elementary, middle school, high school, and special services teachers who go above and beyond in their profession. The recognition comes with a $3,000 award.