Category Archives: Education

Accomplished teacher and Florida politician LeAnna Cumber

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Accomplished bi-lingual education teacher and Florida politician LeAnna Cumber.

Many fine classroom teachers also achieve success in the political arena. One example of this is LeAnna Cumber, an elementary bilingual education teacher who serves as a Councilwoman in Jacksonville, Florida. She also served in the Department of Transportation during the administration of President George W. Bush.

LeAnna was born on February 3, 1973, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After her high school graduation, she enrolled at the University of Texas, Austin, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Government. After her college graduation, LeAnna accepted a position at a shelter for battered women in Nacogdoches, Texas. Next, she taught third grade bilingual education in the Nacogdoches Independent School District. Then she taught in rural east Texas, and then fifth grade bilingual education in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In 2001, LeAnna completed the requirements for her Juris Doctorate at the University of Southern California. While in law school, the former teacher worked with prisoners at the California Institute of Women. She represented clients in a variety of civil proceedings, including child custody and parole hearings.

As a politician, LeAnna was elected in 2019 to the Jacksonville City Council in Jacksonville, Florida. She represents District 5. Her current term ends in June 2023. As a Councilwoman, she serves as Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee. She also currently serves as President of the San Marco Preservation Society and as a member of Jacksonville’s Children’s Commission. In addition, during the administration of President George W. Bush, LeAnna was selected to serve as a legislative counselor for the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation.

To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this article printed in the City of Jacksonville, Florida.

CA’s Chuck Davis: Voc Ed teacher, conscientious objector, and graphic arts expert

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California’s Chuck Davis: Vocational education teacher who was also a conscientious objector, graphic arts expert, and restorer of antique clocks.

There are many talented educators who have led colorful lives outside of the classroom. One of these is Chuck Davis, a vocational education teacher from California who also worked as a forester, a typesetter, and restorer of antique clocks.

Chuck was born Charles Ernest Davis on Feb. 4, 1923, in La Verne, California. After his graduation from Bonita High School in 1941, he enrolled at La Verne College. His father, also named C. Ernest Davis, was serving as the college’s president at the time. During his college years, which spanned World War II, Chuck spent three years in the Civilian Public Service (CPS) as a conscientious objector. There he was involved in forestry work. In the evenings he hand set type and printed the works of several Beat poets who were also stationed at the forestry camp.

When his stint in the CPS was complete, Chuck worked as a printer at the San Dimas Press and a foreman at the San Gabriel Valley Daily Tribune. He also taught printing in the Vocational Education Department at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. In addition to teaching there, Chuck also instructed courses at Los Angeles Trade Technical College for 36 years, and at Los Angeles State College.

When he was 60 years old, Chuck retired. But he was not finished working. He purchased a typesetting and graphic arts photography business, which he ran with his sons Robbie and Alan. He also taught a course in clock repair through Pomona Adult School. In fact, he conducted comprehensive research into Japanese schoolhouse clocks. This research was published in the NAWCC Bulletin in 2009.

Chuck passed away on July 1, 2020. He was 97 years old. To learn more about this amazing educator, follow this link to the Daily Bulletin.

North Dakota’s Laura Eisenhuth Alming: Teacher, Pioneer, Politician

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Laura Eisenhuth Alming: Teacher, pioneer, politician

Many talented classroom teachers also find success as politicians. One of these is Laura Eisenhuth Alming, a 19th century educator who was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of North Dakota.

Laura was born on May 29, 1859, in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada. She was just a toddler when her family moved to DeWitt, Iowa. As a young woman, she completed college courses and then accepted a teaching position at DeWitt High School.

The young educator first traveled to Dakota Territory in the summer of 1885. There she staked a claim on 160 acres of land near the town of New Rockford. She continued to live and teach in Iowa for the next two years, returning to her Dakota homestead for the summers. In 1882, the pioneer teacher married Willis Eisenhuth, a fellow teacher who had moved from Pennsylvania to Carrington, North Dakota. In Dakota he established and operated a drugstore.

After her marriage, Laura, already a veteran educator with 11 years of experience under her belt, accepted a position as a temporary teacher in Carrington. There she taught 80 students in a one-room schoolhouse. The next year she was re-hired, but fortunately the townspeople acquired an assistant to help with instructional activities.

Carrington’s citizens were so impressed with Laura’s work in the classroom that they elected her Superintendent of Schools for North Dakota’s Foster County in 1889. During the years she held this office, the innovative educator organized and oversaw a series of teacher-training institutes to improve public school instruction.

In 1892, Laura was elected her state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this period of history, women in the United States enjoyed very few voting privileges. In North Dakota, women could vote only on school issues. In her position as Superintendent, Laura continued to emphasize professional development. She also championed improved hygiene in schools and supported the introduction of fencing into the curriculum.

When Laura’s husband became very ill, Laura resigned from her office to focus on helping him recuperate. She found employment as a teacher and an Assistant Principal of Carrington High School. Her husband passed away in 1902. Five years later, Laura married Ludwig Alming, and the newlyweds moved to Jacksonville, Oregon. Laura lived the rest of her life there.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on September 30, 1937, in Medford, Oregon. She is interred in Siskiyou Memorial Park.

To read more about Laura Eisenhuth Alming, see this article printed in the Bismarck Tribune.

California teacher Janet Udomratsak teaches class from her hospital bed

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California teacher Janet Udomratsak teaches her third graders from her hospital bed.

During the current pandemic, educators all over the country are stepping up to meet the extra challenges that confront educators this year. But Janet Udomratsak, a teacher from Lancaster, California, is overcoming a personal medical challenge as well. Because of a high-risk pregnancy, she’s currently on doctor-ordered bed rest. Nevertheless, she is teaching from her hospital bed.

Janet teaches third grade at Tierra Bonita Elementary School in the Eastside Union School District in Lancaster. “In the beginning of the school year, that is when you build your relationship with your students, and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity,” the veteran educator declared.

She was hospitalized seven weeks ago due to pregnancy complications. With months to go on bedrest until her second child is due, Janet decided to take on the challenge of teaching her class from her hospital bed. “My love of teaching and building that relationship is so much stronger than me just wanting to sit and do nothing,” the dedicated teacher explained. “And, honestly, that would be the life, to take it all in and relax, but my desire is to be with the students.”

Janet also said that, especially during these unprecedented times, she feels it’s her job to make sure her students know they are not alone. “It’s something that is new for all of us, and I want to show them that I am there with them and the struggle is real for me as a teacher, it’s real them as the students and we are all in this together,” she concluded.