Category Archives: Education

IL educator Olga Nunez Johnson receives 2024 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching

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Olga Nunez Johnson, a first grade teacher in Chicago, Illinois, has been named a recipient of the 2024 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Photo Credit: Block Club Chicago

I always enjoy sharing stories of outstanding educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Olga Nunez Johnson of Chicago, Illinois. She has been named a recipient of the 2024 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Olga teaches first grade at Thomas J. Waters School in Chicago, where she has taught for 12 years. As a whole, her career as an educator spans 29 years.

In her classroom, Olga prioritizes her students’ needs, fostering a supportive and purposeful student-centered environment. According to her co-workers, her personality and commitment to creating a respectful, challenging, and inclusive classroom environment make her an outstanding educator.

Olga was born into a family of immigrants from Cuba. She was born in Spain before coming to the United States when she was just a toddler. Her mother, also named Olga, was a stay-at-home mom and her father, Luis, worked as a machinist in a factory.

The Golden Apple Awards honor outstanding teachers for leaving a lasting, positive effect on the lives of their students and in their school communities. Olga is one of ten educators in her state who were selected from over 600 candidates teaching at the Pre-K to third grade level.

“These exceptional educators have demonstrated an unwavering commitment, innovative spirit, and transformative influence on their students and school communities,” asserts Alan Mather, President of The Golden Apple Foundation. “They are not merely outstanding instructors, but impactful leaders as well,” he continues. “The 2024 award recipients will help shape the future of teaching, empowering the next generation of talented educators to make a profound difference in even more young lives,” Mather concludes.

Learn more about Olga Nunez Johnson by clicking on this link to Block Club Chicago.

Christy Todd named Georgia’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Middle school music educator Christy Todd has been named Georgia’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: All on Georgia

Our nation’s students are indeed fortunate to have so many exceptional teachers in the classroom. One of them is Christy Todd, a middle school teacher from Georgia. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Christy teaches music education to students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayetteville, Georgia. But her influence goes far beyond her own music classroom. To make music education accessible to all students on her campus, Christy launched a collaboration between the Music Department and her school’s Special Education classrooms. Impressively, the program has reached more than 10,000 students over the last 15 years. 

In addition to her classroom instruction, Christy founded her district’s Community for Creativity initiative, a program that supports schoolwide creation of songs, podcasts, videos, and audio books. These products are released through the school’s recording label, Hall Pass Entertainment.

Christy began her teaching career as a Choir Director. In fact, she still actively conducts honor choirs, along with publishing articles and research for various state, national, and international education journals. She was also a founding member of the Story Arts Collective, a group of education and industry leaders committed to growing Georgia’s creative work force.
 
Her recognition as the Georgia State Teacher of the Year is not the only honor Christy has received. In 2013, she was named a Grammy Music Teacher of the Year National Quarter-Finalist. In 2016, she was honored as the Georgia Middle School Association’s Teacher of the Year, and in 2022, she was named Fayette County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. She has also been honored as a key youth influencer by the United States Navy’s Blue Angels.

Christy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Shorter College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and her Master’s degree in Music Education from Florida State University. 

Teacher Art Kimora has been designated a Living Treasure of Hawaii

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Science educator Art Kimura has been named a Living Treasure of Hawaii for his work in the classroom. Photo Credit: PAEMST

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator who has worked with young people in our public schools. One of them is high school science teacher Arthur Kimora. He has been designated a Living Treasures of Hawaii for his work in the classroom.

Arthur, who prefers to be called Art, worked as  an educator for 48 years. He spent twelve years as a biology teacher, nine years as an aerospace teacher, five years as a school administrator, and 22 years as an education specialist with the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium, University of Hawaii.

Furthermore, Art is a US veteran. He served on active duty for five years in the US Air Force and then 23 years in the Hawaii Air Guard, retiring as a Lt. Colonel.

As for honors and recognition, Art garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 1983; the Phi Beta Kappa; the Biology Teacher of the Year Award; the Civil Air Patrol Crown Circle Award; the Air Force Association Christa McAuliffe Award; and the Living Treasures of Hawaii designation.

Art says that engaging students includes the use of demonstrations, hands on inquiry-based laboratory activities, project-based learning, using a real-world context with a culminating demonstration or challenge, and using community resources and experiences, including global connections and collaboration.

“Consistently, I seek opportunities offered by the community,” says Arthur. For him, examples of this include being the first class to sail on an oceanographic research vessel, serving on the zoo’s education board, and camping and touring at night in the zoo. He has also organized trips to the science center, planned space conferences and our own planetary themed summer camps, and organized experimentation in the field and lab activities.

Art earned his Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and his Master’s degree in Science Education, both from the University of Hawaii.

Arthur Kimura: a true Chalkboard Champion.

Former teacher Lisa Niver authors award-winning memoir

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Former science teacher Lisa Niver has published an award-winning memoir entitled Brave-ish which  won multiple awards! Photo Credit: medium.com.

Lisa Niver, a former junior high school science teacher from Los Angeles, California, is a podcaster, sought-after motivational speaker, travel agent, and travel writer. In fact, she has been recognized as one of the top five female travel bloggers. And now, the former teacher is a published author. She has released her new memoir entitled Brave-ish: One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless after Fifty. The volume has already garnered multiple awards, including being named as a Nonfiction Book Award Gold Winner.

Brave-ish tells the story Lisa’s expeditions to far-flung corners of the world, including Vanuatu, Nepal, Myanmar, Cuba, Morocco, Kenya, and Mongolia. But her book is more than a travelogue. Her story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of perseverance. Brave-ish inspires readers to dream big, take risks, and embrace the unknown in order to create an exciting and wonder-filled life, even when courage seems out of reach.

Lisa has published many articles in online and in print magazines, including National Geographic, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and The Jewish Journal. She was a 2012 nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). In 2018, she was nominated in three categories of the Southern California Journalism Awards: Science/Technology Reporting; Travel Reporting; and Personality Profile. To learn more about unique travel experiences, check out Lisa’s website at We Said Go Travel.

As for Lisa’s former career as an educator, she is well-known in science teacher circles for her instructional strategies that emphasize the use of technology in the classroom. She’s also noted for using students’ real world connections to explore their passions, and for teaching them to work towards solving today’s most complex issues. In 2009, Lisa founded the Los Angeles Science Teachers Network (LASTN),  a professional development network that by May, 2012, involved over 70 teachers and 40 schools. The effort was praised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

RI educator Shannon Gormley named 2024 Civics Education Teacher of the Year

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Educator Shannon Gormley has been named 2024 Rhode Island Civics Education Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Rhode Island

Congratulations to Shannon Gormley. She has been recognized as one of two educators in the state of Rhode Island who have been named a 2024 Civics Education Teacher of the Year. The other is Crystal Bozigian, a teacher at Rhode Island’s North Providence High School.

Shannon was nominated for the honor by one of her students. The student says that her teacher “always goes above and beyond to make sure every student feels valued, heard, and seen.” The student continued, “I learned lifelong lessons (from the teacher) that I’ll never forget,” the student continued.

Shannon has served in the classroom for more than 14 years. Currently she teaches at Central High School in Providence. There she instructs courses in civics, United States history, community development, and African American studies. She also serves as the Chair of her school’s History Department and as the Student Council Advisor on her campus.

“Civics matters to me because it is the foundation of our democracy. It teaches us the importance of being informed and engaged citizens, advocating for social justice, and standing up for what is right,” declares Shannon. “By understanding how our government works and how policies are made, we can actively participate in shaping the future of our country,” she says.

Shannon earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and Sociology from Rhode Island College in 2010. She is currently pursuing a certification from the ExcEL Leadership Academy, a national program based on best practices for serving English language learners.

The Civics Education Teacher of the Year award honors outstanding teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to and expertise in teaching civics or American government. In selecting the winners, special consideration is given to teachers who employ innovative teaching practices and experiential learning.