Category Archives: Education

Montana teacher Shianne Schmidt garners coveted 2020 PAEMST

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Elementary school teacher Shianne Schmidt from Whitefish, Montana, has garnered a coveted 2020 PAEMST. Photo Credit: Whitefish Pilot

There are many talented educators who have earned recognition for their outstanding work in the classroom. One of these is Shianne Schmidt, an elementary school teacher from Whitefish, Montana. She has garnered a coveted PAEMST in 2020.

In a career that has spanned 11 years, Shianne has spent the last six of them teaching third and fourth graders at Olney Bissell School in Whitefish. She previously taught a combination of third and fourth graders at Reed Point Elementary School in Reed Point, Montana. She inaugurated her career as a teacher at Koliganek Public School in Dilliingham, Alaska.

Shianne teaches all subject areas in her classroom, but mathematics is her favorite subject and her area of special expertise. But this expertise took time and effort to develop. She says math wasn’t always an area of strength for her, and she could tell it was a subject that many of her young students struggled with. When she noticed that many of her students expressed frustration with math, or when they made comments such as, “I’ll never be good at math,” she knew she had to find a way to turn the negative into a positive. “I said, we’ve got to change that,” Shianne recalls. “That’s got to change. What can I do to help these kids learn better?” To accomplish this, the honored educator worked diligently to become an expert herself. “I started re-teaching math to myself so that it made sense to me and so it made sense to students,” she explained. “I learned in that journey there was not just one way to get the answer or solution.” And along the way, she learned to love the subject.

Shianne expresses her love of math by developing engaging activities that motivate her students. She excites children in mathematical learning with classroom transformations and project-based learning tasks. Some of the students’ favorites have been creating their own food truck, rollercoaster mathematics, and a cross-curricular unit that studies Alaska’s famous Iditarod race.

The PAEMST, Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, is an honor that recognizes the dedication, hard work, and importance that America’s teachers play in supporting learners who will become future STEM professionals, including computer technologists, climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. The PAEMST program, founded in 1983, is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honor comes with a $10,000 cash prize.

Tuskegee Airman LeRoy Battle: Educator, musician, veteran

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High school music teacher and Tuskegee Airman LeRoy Battle authored an autobiography entitled Easier Said, published in 1995. Photo Credit: Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

As a part of our national celebration of Black History Month, I would like to share the story of LeRoy Battle, a high school music teacher who was also a heroic Tuskegee Airman.

LeRoy was born Dec. 31, 1921, in the Harlem section of New York City, New York. His father owned a candy store, and his mother worked as a beautician and cook. While a youngster, LeRoy expressed an avid interest in music. He was able to take music lessons through both the Boy Scouts and the YMCA, where it was obvious he was a natural. By the time he was in the seventh grade, young LeRoy owned his own drum set. After years of learning and practice, the youthful musician was proficient enough to give music lessons as a private tutor.

As a teenager, LeRoy attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. There he played drums in the marching band and the school orchestra. He also performed in New York’s All-City Orchestra, the Harold Cabbell Orchestra, and the Al Bounds Orchestra. By the time LeRoy was a senior, he played with legendary singer Billie Holiday at the Three Deuces Jazz Club. He also worked with Pearl Bailey. After his graduation, the youthful musician joined a traveling band and went on the road.

Educator LeRoy Battle shown during World War II, when he served in the prestigious Tuskegee Airman group. Photo Credit: Capital Gazette

During WWII, Leroy was drafted. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1945 to 1947. Once he earned his silver wings and bars, LeRoy volunteered to join the Tuskegee Airmen. “I can’t say that I ever had any previous aspirations to be a pilot,” he once confessed. “But it sounded like a much better opportunity than anything else that was likely to come along.”  After completing the Tuskegee program at Tuskegee University, gunnery training at Tyndall Field, and bombardier training at Midland Air Force Base, LeRoy joined the 616th Squadron of the 477th Bombardment Group stationed at Freeman Army Air Force Base. For his heroism during WWII, LeRoy garnered the Congressional Gold Medal.

When the war ended, the former pilot continued his studies in music. He returned to New York City and enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music.Then Morgan State University, a historically Black college located in Baltimore, Maryland. There he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Education. He also earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Maryland, College Park.

In 1950, LeRoy accepted a position as a music teacher at Douglass High School in Washington, DC. That year he established a stage band for his students. Over the next eight years, The Douglass High School Band placed garnered first place in 14 competitions. In 1958, the students became the first African American band featured in the prestigious yearbook First Chair of America. Jet Magazine also printed a spread on the outstanding young musicians. Before LeRoy retired in 1978, he also served as a guidance counselor and assistant principal. For 17 of those years, he also served as a drummer in the Washington Redskins Marching Band.

Post-retirement, LeRoy continued to make music. From 1992 to 1996 he did session work with jazz musicians Eva Cassidy and Chuck Brown.In addition, he worked as a motivational speaker for the Tuskegee Airmen’s Speaker’s Bureau. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, he authored an autobiography entitled Easier Said, published in 1995.

Sadly, LeRoy passed away on March 28, 2015, in Harwood, Maryland. He was 93 years old. To read more about this remarkable Chalkboard Champion, see his obituary published in the Capital Gazette.

NYC teacher Shara Breit earns a 2023 Big Apple Award

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New York City elementary school teacher Shara Breit has been recognized as an exceptional educator with a 2023 Big Apple Award. Photo Credit: New York City Department of Education

New York City is very proud of their public school teachers. In fact, city educational leaders regularly recognize exceptional teachers with their annual Big Apple Award. In 2023, one of these educators was Shara Breit, an elementary school teacher from Staten Island.

Shara teaches fourth grade at Public School 11, also known as Thomas Dongan School. Her professional philosophy is that every student in her classroom should have “voice and choice.” Upon entering her classroom, students and alike immediately feel they are immersed in a relaxed atmosphere and culture that invites all students to succeed. Shara makes sure that her youngsters are provided with enrichment opportunities and projects that have been created in collaboration with her students. Some of these have even gone schoolwide.

Shara says she understands that keeping her students at the center of the instructional program means engaging their families in their education, too. She regularly invites families to lessons she calls “Parents as Learning Partners.” These lessons are interactive. During the pandemic, the lessons were provided virtually, and once the school returned to in-person instruction, many parents requested their children remain remote with Shara, because they simply did not want to leave the popular teacher’s online platform.

In addition to her responsibilities as a classroom teacher, Shara serves as a Grade Team Leader, a social and emotional learning (SEL) coordinator, and a data specialist. In her role as the data specialist, she facilitates grade-level and school-level (horizontal and vertical) Inquiry/Impact Team work to decide upon the best instructional practices to promote the highest levels of student achievement at all grade levels.

The Big Apple Award was presented to 20 New York City teachers. Each one was nominated by their principal for work in the profession that inspires students, models great teaching, and enriches school communities. The recipients were chosen through a rigorous selection process that includes community nominations, principal recommendations, classroom visits, an interview, and a review by a board of judges. To learn more about the program and this year’s recipients, click on this link to Big Apple Awards.

LA teacher and coach Brittany Bonnaffons named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Louisiana math teacher and track coach Brittany Bonnaffons has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Louisiana Life

I am always happy to share the story of an exceptional educator who has been honored for their work with students. One of these is Brittany Bonnaffons, a math teacher and coach from Luling, Louisiana. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Brittany is originally from Midland, Texas. She moved to the New Orleans area as a junior in high school. Once she graduated from high school, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University. She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University. She earned a second Master’s degree, in Exercise Science, from the University of Louisiana Monroe. She earned a third Master’s degree in Education from Northwestern University.

Brittany currently teaches Algebra to ninth graders at Hahnville High School in Luling. The students that are enrolled in her classes have low scores on their middle school standardized tests, but because of her intervention, 63% of the students who were not on track to pass the LEAP and 93% of her remaining learners pass the Algebra 1 LEAP 2025.

This Chalkboard Champion’s career as an educator has spanned 12 years so far. But Brittany didn’t originally choose teaching as her profession. She was successfully working in corporate America when she started volunteering as a track and field coach at Hahnville High School in 2018. When her husband noticed her passion for working with the young people, he suggested she go into teaching.

Brittany still serves as the Head Coach for her school’s track team. During her tenure, the team has captured four district championships and has taken regional runner-up honors twice. Among her athletes, there have been more than 50 individual district medalists, more than 30 individual regional medalists, and more than 10 state medalists.

 

Iowa teacher Heather Anderson recognized as frontrunner in STEM education

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Elementary school teacher Heather Anderson has a reputation as a frontrunner in STEM education. Photo Credit: Iowa STEM Advisory Council. 

Here is one educator who has earned a name for herself as a frontrunner in STEM education: Heather Anderson, an elementary school teacher from Waukee, Iowa.

Heather teaches second grade at Grant Eagan Elementary in Waukee, where she has worked since 2014. In her classroom, Heather has created a Makerspace area, and in this space she encourages students to bring parts or materials to class to examine how things are made. She has also organized a bristle-bot honeybee construction unit, which has become a favorite learning activity among her students.

For her efforts to further STEM education, Heather has received a whopping total of 28 different STEM-related grants. She has also garnered no less than four awards through the STEM Scale-Up Program. She was selected the first elementary teacher to participate in the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program in 2017. In addition, she has participated in the National Summer Institute in Japan and the NEAF Global Learning Fellowship in Peru. And, as if all this were not enough, she sits on the Des Moines Public School Board.

For her work in STEM education, Heather has earned many accolades. She was the recipient of the 2015 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence on a national level. That same year, she was named the recipient of a California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2014, she earned an Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Iowa Urban Tree Council. In 2013, she was awarded an

Heather earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Upper Iowa University in 1997. She was also certified by the Iowa Montessori Training Center in 2006.

Nice going, Heather!