Category Archives: Education

Florida’s Sarah Painter declares class motto: “Find joy.”

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It is always a pleasure to share stories about exceptional teachers who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Sarah Ann Painter, an elementary school teacher from Pinellas County, Florida. In a year when she declared her class motto is “Find joy,” she’s been named Florida’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year.

Sarah teaches fifth-grade at Eisenhower Elementary School in Pinellas County, Florida. In a pandemic year filled with challenges for both teachers and students, Sarah declared the motto for herself and her students would be “Find joy.” “That two-word phrase changed a mindset across our school,” she asserted.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she organized common planning and collaboration for fifth-grade teachers throughout the Pinellas School District. She is also the Chairperson for the School Advisory Council, the representative for English/Language Arts, and the school liaison for the extended school day program. And as if all that were not enough, she established an open-door policy for colleagues to observe her instructional practices. Her career as an educator has spanned nearly 19 years.

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2002 from the University of South Florida, and her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2012 from the University of Florida. She also earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Florida State University in 2021.

Sarah was selected from among five finalists, and nearly 185,000 public school teachers across the state. As the 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year, Sarah Ann will serve for one year as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education. In this role, Painter will travel throughout the state to recognize and honor the contributions of Florida’s teachers and create greater public awareness of Florida’s exceptional teachers and the profession. In addition, she will receive $20,000 from the Florida Department of Education and a two-year Florida College scholarship from the Florida Prepaid College Board which she can to present to any student of her choice.

 

PE teacher, retired football coach, and former pro football player Zach Valentine

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Physical Education teacher, retired football coach, and former professional football player Zack Valentine of Woodbury, New Jersey. Photo credit: nj.com

I always enjoy sharing stories about former professional athletes who have enriched the lives of young people as teachers and coaches. One example of this is Zack Valentine, a former professional football player who became a successful high school football coach and physical education teacher in New Jersey.

Zack was born on May 29, 1957, in Edenton, North Carolina. As a youngster, he attended John A. Holmes High School in the Edenton-Chowan School District. After his high school graduation, Zack attended nearby East Carolina University.

After college, Zack played pro football for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1979-1981), and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1982 season. With the Steelers, the 6’2″, 220-pound linebacker garnered a coveted Super Bowl ring in 1979.

After Zack concluded his professional football career, he accepted a position as a physical education teacher at Woodbury High School in Gloucester, New Jersey. He also served as the Head Football Coach for the Thundering Herd for 11 seasons. During his tenure, he led his team to a 10-2 record (2012) and three trips to the South Jersey Group 1 Final, including one championship in 2009. That year, the Gloucester Times designated the victorious coach their Football Coach of the Year. Overall, Zack’s record was 82 wins and 37 losses. Only one other coach in Woodbury High history has logged more wins.

As a coach, Zack is known for his focus on more than what his players accomplish on the field; he is immeasurably concerned about what they also accomplish in their academics and in their personal lives. “He’s been a great coach to these kids,” says Woodbury’s Athletic Director Grant Shivers, “and sometimes I don’t think our kids always understand how lucky they are to have a coach like him.” He retired from coaching in 2012, but continued to teach physical education.

Read more about this amazing educator and coach through this article, 2009 Football Coach of the Year, published in the Gloucester Times.

RI teacher and coach Meaghan McGonagle succumbs to Covid-19

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Teacher and coach Meaghan McGonagle of Cranston, Rhode Island, succumbed to Covid-19 on Dec.  16, 2021. She was only 41 years old. Photo credit: Providence Journal.

Sadly, Covid-19 continues to claim the lives of dedicated and beloved educators. One of these was Meaghan McGonagle, a popular teacher and coach from Cranston, Rhode Island. Only 41 years old, she succumbed to the disease on December 16, 2021.

Meaghan’s career as an educator in Cranston Public Schools spanned 15 years. For the past eight years, she taught Business courses at Cranston High School East. She also coached the girls and boys volleyball teams, leading both teams to state titles. In addition to working at Cranston she was the Entrepreneurship Program Instructor at Cranston Area Career and Technical Center, where she had worked for six years, and a Business Teacher at Guilderland Central School District, where she had worked for four years.

Meaghan’s absence will be keenly felt by her students, asserted Ken Hopkins, Mayor of Cranston. “[She] coached them through some championship seasons. The kids loved her,” he said. Hopkins recalled that he worked with the fallen educator for several years at Cranston East before he was elected mayor. “She was well-loved. She wasn’t one of those fly-by-night teachers that come and go. She was there, after school, with the kids, and very much a part of the Cranston East community,” he remembered.

Meaghan graduated from Pilgrim High School in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1998. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from Siena College, New York, in 2002. There she was a two-time team captain on the women’s basketball team.

Former teacher Susan Holmes also served in Georgia State House of Reps

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Former teacher Susan Holmes has also served her community in the Georgia State House of Representatives. Photo credit: Ballotpedia

Many fine teachers also serve as competent politicians. One of these is Susan Holmes, a teacher from Jasper County, Georgia, who also served in the Georgia State House of Representatives.

Susan was born on Oct. 8, 1942, on a large cotton farm in northern Jasper County. She represents the seventh generation in her family to live in Jasper County. As the years went by, Susan’s family farm was transformed into a dairy business. As a member of a farming and dairy family, Susan grew up with a deep appreciation and love for rural Georgia.

After her graduation from Monticello High School in Jasper, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education at the University of Georgia. Later she completed courses in administration and leadership from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

After earning her degree, Susan taught school, both public and private, served as a postmaster, a legal assistant, and also served as the CFO of a family-owned insurance company. As if all that were not enough, she is a licensed real estate agent.

In 1998, Susan was elected to the office of Mayor of Monticello, a position she kept for 12 years. She was the first woman to serve her community in this role. In 2007, Susan was appointed by President George W. Bush to the position of State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency for Georgia.

In 2010, the former teacher was elected to the Georgia State House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. There she represented first District 125 and then District 129. While there, one of her most significant pieces of legislation was to provide grants and scholarships to students to help pay for their tuition.

For her service to the community, Susan has earned many accolades. She was selected Monticello Jasper County Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine and one of the five most outstanding women in Middle Georgia by the Girl Scouts Council. In addition, she garnered recognition as Northeast Georgia’s Most Outstanding Citizen and she earned the Georgia Downtown Association’s Outstanding Leadership Award.

NY teacher Julia Richman worked tirelessly for immigrant children

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Julia Richman

Teacher, principal, and social reformer Julia Richman worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrant children in New York City. Photo credit: Public Domain

Just about everyone agrees that a teacher can profoundly influence the lives of the students in his or her classroom. But Julia Richman, an educator, philanthropist, author, and social reformer from New York City, influenced the lives of students in an entire city.

Julia was born October 12, 1855, in New York City, the daughter of German-speaking Jewish immigrants from the Czech Republic. At a young age, Julia made some important decisions about her own future. “I am not pretty…and I am not going to marry,” she once declared, “but before I die, all New York will know my name.”

Julia was determined to become a teacher, a decision her very traditional father vehemently opposed. In the late 1800’s, an eighth grade education was considered sufficient for girls. However, after a protracted battle royal, Julia convinced her father to allow her to pursue her goal of becoming a professional educator. In 1872, Julia realized her dream when she graduated from Hunter College.

Over the next four decades, Julia worked tirelessly as a classroom teacher, principal, school superintendent, and social reformer. Inside the classroom and within her community, she improved the lives of countless newly arrived immigrants, special needs students, and delinquents: the children 19th-century society typically considered “throwaway kids.” This innovative educator tossed away the conventional methods of instruction of her day, and designed model programs that educators from all over the world came to observe. She instituted numerous progressive practices that are still used in public schools today.

When Julia passed away in 1912, the New York City Board of Education ordered the flags of all NYC public schools be flown at half mast in her honor. It appeared that Julia’s prediction as an eleven-year-old had come true: all New York City knew her name.

Want to learn more about Julia Richman? I’ve written an entire chapter about this amazing educator in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon or bn.com. Available in print or ebook versions.