Category Archives: Education

Louisiana elementary teacher Regena Beard named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary STEM teacher Regena Beard has been named Louisiana State’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: CCSSO

Every year, many exceptional educators are singled out for honors in recognition for their dedicated work in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Regena Beard, an elementary school teacher from Louisiana. She has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Regena teaches courses in science, STEM, and robotics to fifth and sixth graders at Copper Mill Elementary School in the town of Zachary. To further support her students’ exploration of STEM studies, she founded both a Robotics Club and a Coding Club on her campus. In addition, she serves on the Teacher Advisory Council in her district.

As part of her curriculum in her fifth-grade class, Regena’s students explore how matter moves through the ecosystem. They study the cycle of moving from plant producers to animal consumers to decomposers and back into the soil that enriches plants. As part of their study, Regina’s students create animations through block coding on lab computers. “Students are very excited to engage in the content in this way,” she declares. “We certainly don’t do integration with every assignment because you have to teach them how to code first, but we pick and choose what assignments lend themselves to integration,” she explains.

Regena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2004. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a Concentration in STEM from Louisiana State University, Shreveport, in 2023.

In addition to her State Teacher of the Year honors, Regena garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 2022, and that same year she was named Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association. Her career as an educator spans 21 years.

Iowa educator Mildred Wood: A trailblazer in the field of Special Ed

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Iowa educator Mildred Wood was a trailblazer in the field of Special Education. Photo credit: Iowa State University

There are many trailblazing educators who have worked diligently for the rights of others in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Mildred H. Wood, an Iowa teacher who campaigned tirelessly for the rights of students with special needs.

Mildred was born on April 19, 1920, in Alta, Iowa. After her graduation from Humboldt High School in 1937, she enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1956, her Master’s degree in 1962, and a post-graduate degree as an Education Specialist in 1963. She earned her PhD from the University of Indiana in 1970. She completed additional courses in child psychology and learning processes from Syracuse University and the University of Oregon.

Mildred inaugurated her career as an educator in the Rowley Consolidated School System in Iowa in 1939. She taught first and second graders that year, a year she considered a personal failure because she felt unable to help one of her students who had both vision and hearing impairments.

As a result of these personal experiences in the classroom and her subsequent pedagogical studies, Mildred went on to become a pioneer in the field of special education in Iowa. In the 1960’s, she became an expert in the recognition and instruction of learning disabilities, emphasizing early identification and tailoring interventions. She developed and taught courses on learning disabilities and integrated principles of child psychology into teacher training programs. She emphasized diagnostic testing and individualized learning strategies for those who had been previously mislabeled or overlooked.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Mildred was also an author and a newspaper column writer. She published a column entitled “Parents and Learning Disabilities” for the Waterloo Courier, and developed policy when she was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Education.

For her work on behalf of special needs students, Mildred garnered multiple honors and awards. She was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011, and later that year garnered a 2012 UNI Outstanding Alumnus Award. She also earned the President’s Award from the Iowa Association for Children and Youth with Learning Disabilities, and received the highest honor from Iowa’s Commission of Persons with Disabilities.

Mildred Wood passed away on July 6, 2014. She was 94 years old. She is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Retired Ohio English teacher Sharon Mills Draper is an award-winning author

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Retired high school English teacher Sharon Mills Draper has won a plethora of awards as an author of books for children and adolescents. Photo credit: Creative Commons

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who have earned recognition as an author. One of these is Sharon Mills Draper, a former high school English teacher who has won a plethora of awards as an author of books for children and adolescents.

Sharon was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 21, 1948, the oldest of the three children of Victor and Catherine Mills. Her father was a hotel maitre d’ and her mother worked in the advertising department of a local newspaper. As a child, Sharon loved to play the piano and to read. By the time she was 11 years old, she had read every children’s book in her local library. The librarian then gave her a special library card that she could use to check out books from the adult section.

When she grew up, Sharon earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Pepperdine University and her Master’s degree from Miami University of Ohio. Once she completed her education, she inaugurated her teaching career in pubic schools in Cincinnati. As a teacher, Sharon earned fame among her students for a challenging research paper she assigned to her seniors. They dubbed the assignment the “Draper Paper.”

Sharon’s career as an author began in 1990 when she was challenged by one of her ninth grade students to “write something.” She submitted a short story entitled “One Small Torch” to a writing contest sponsored by Ebony Magazine. The magazine published her story and gave her a cash prize of $1,000. She even earned praise from Roots author Alex Haley! In 2000, after a career as an educator that spanned 25 years, Sharon retired to spend more time on her writing.

For her work as an educator and as an author, Sharon has earned many accolades. She was named the National Teacher of the Year in 1997. The same year, the Ohio Department of Education honored her as an Ohio Pioneer in Education, and she garnered a National Educator Award from the Milken Foundation. She also won the Career Woman of Achievement, the Dean’s Award from Howard University School of Education, the Pepperdine University Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Marva Collins Education Excellence Award, and the Governor’s Educational Leadership Award. In addition, Sharon earned the Coretta Scott King Award for books about youngsters and adolescents. But she is best known for her Hazelwood and Jericho series.

To learn more about the work of Sharon Mills Draper, see her bio info at Simon & Schuster.

Social Studies teacher Matt Commons also serves in the Indiana State House of Reps

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Social Studies and Government teacher Matt Commons also serves his community in the Indiana State House of Representatives. Photo credit: WFYI Indianapolis

Many outstanding educators have also served their communities in political office. One of these is Matt Commons, a secondary school teacher who also serves in the Indiana State House of Representatives.

Matt was born in Bedford, Indiana. After his high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army. There he served five years, from 2009 to 2014, as an Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division. He completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and received a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in combat during his second tour there. He sustained his injuries when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) and lost his right leg.

Once he earned his honorable discharge, Matt earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Education from Purdue University in 2018. He earned his Master’s degree in History from Liberty University. He later earned a Master’s degree in Education Leadership and Administration from Indiana State University.

Matt inaugurated his career as an educator at his high school alma mater, Seeger Memorial High School in West Lebanon, Indiana, where he has taught Social Studies and Government since 2018. He also served as an Assistant Coach for the varsity football team.

In 2024, Matt was elected on the Republican ticket to represent his state’s 13th District. The District includes all of Benton and Warren counties, and portions of Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Tippecanoe, and White counties. He was sworn into office in 2024, and will serve until 2026. He is currently running for re-election. In the State House, Matt serves on the House Local Government Committee; the Natural Resources Committee; and the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee. He declares he is also greatly interested in issues that relate to education.

 

Florida teacher Barbara Goleman was named 1969 National Teacher of the Year

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Florida Language Arts teacher Barbara Goleman was recognized as the National Teacher of the Year in 1969. Photo Credit: Barbara Goleman High School

The 1960’s were a politically turbulent time in American history, a time when many Chalkboard Champions made significant contributions toward the social evolution of that time period. One such educator was Barbara Ann Goleman, an award-winning high school teacher from Florida.

Barbara was born and raised in Florida. She attended Florida State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1952 and her Master’s degree in 1954. She inaugurated her teaching career as an English literature instructor at Miami Jackson High School in 1954.

At the beginning of her career, the school’s enrollment was 90% white middle-class students. In 1963, in response to the 1954 Supreme Court ruling Brown vs. Board of Education, the racial segregation that had been prevalent previously in American schools became prohibited. To comply with the desegregation order, Florida began to admit African American students to white schools. By 1966, the student body at Miami Jackson High was 85% African American, predominantly from impoverished families.

To respond to the needs of her new student population, Barbara helped develop innovative instructional programs and demonstrated a nurturing attitude towards all her students. For her efforts, she was recognized with the National Teacher of the Year Award in 1969. She was the first Southerner in 18 years to be so honored, and President Richard Nixon presented the award to Barbara in a White House ceremony.

In 1975, Barbara transferred to North Miami Beach Senior High School as a teacher and staff development specialist for internship programs. Ten years later, she became an administrator for Language Arts at the District Office.

This remarkable educator retired in 1990. In her honor, Barbara Goleman High School, opened in 1995. It was the first school in Miami-Dade County to be named after one of its teachers.

At the school’s dedication ceremony Barbara directed her remarks to those assembled. “What do I wish for you, the students, the teachers, the full staff of this exciting brand new school?” she began. “I wish that every student will feel that people in this school truly care about her or him, that people here believe that learning is the most exciting human endeavor—far beyond mere textbook encounters; that understanding and compassion in our hearts can replace intolerance and animosity and prejudice; that service, not greed, carries honor and self-fulfillment; that we as human beings can make our own meaning out of life; that we can make mistakes and still go on and create new meaning,” she continued. “I wish for every teacher and administrator and service person that this school environment will be warm and supportive, that there be opportunity for growth, that teamwork and cooperation and mutual respect prevail. I wish for this school the highest form of school spirit, love of excellence, honor for sportsmanship and citizenship and scholarship, respect for diversity, simply caring for one another,” she concluded.