Category Archives: Education

Jessica Davis named Minnesota’s 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Educator Jessica Davis, a math and computer science teacher from St. Paul, Minnesota, has been named her state’s 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year.

Accolades are due to educator Jessica Davis, a math and computer science teacher at South St. Paul Secondary School in St. Paul, Minnesota. She’s been named her state’s 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year.

The honored educator confesses that teaching was not her first career choice. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry. She considered going to medical school, but soon realized teaching was her calling. “I’m good at navigating school, and I can help people,” she revealed. That’s when she decided to obtain a Master’s degree in Teaching and her teaching credential, both from Hamline University.

Jessica accepted her first teaching position at St. Paul’s Harding High School in 2006. She transferred to South St. Paul, where she has taught since 2009.  Today she teaches math and computer science to junior and seniors. She is also coaches the school’s math team.

Jessica also serves as the advisor of several student organizations on campus. These include the African American Student Organization, Sexuality and Gender Alliance, Comunidad De Latinos Unidos, and Women’s Society. She believes these organizations encourage students to see their potential. “Representation matters,” Jessica asserts. “It’s important to see yourself in who’s at the front of the classroom, in your literature, in your writings. It’s important to see yourself doing things that are important, that are giving back to the community,” she continues. “It is important for our students to see that they have a place in this community, and until they see those faces also doing it, it’s hard for them to imagine themselves in that spot.”

Read more about Jessica at this link by Education Minnesota.

Science educator Lisa Niver at the Enkereri School in Kenya

Posted on by

Science educator Lisa Niver with students from the Enkereri Primary School on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Photo by Matt Payne. See more about Payne at https://instagram.com/mattpaynetravelphotography

Though many teachers dream of visiting schools on other continents, science educator Lisa Niver has managed to accomplish quite a bit of this. Lisa is pictured above visiting a school located on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. “I was showing the children photos of animals we had seen on our safari as well as photos I took of them in their classroom,” explained Lisa. “I hope to visit Enkereri Primary School again someday!” she said.

The Enkereri Primary School is one of nine schools in the Maasai Mara. This unique school provides a digital literacy program for the students which features e-readers loaded with textbooks and literature. To learn more about the school at Maasai Mara, visit this website at Sanctuary Retreats.

Lisa is a former junior high school science educator from Los Angeles, California. 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 to work towards solving today’s most complex issues. Lisa developed a successful summer science camp for students and created a science-based website entitled Science Isn’t Scary. 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.

In addition to her career as a professional educator, Lisa is also a sought-after motivational speaker, travel agent, and travel writer. Lisa has traveled to over 99 countries, and has been recognized as one of the top five female travel bloggers. In addition, she is the Adventure Correspondent for The Jet Set, the first travel-based TV Talk show. To learn more about unique travel experiences, check out Lisa’s fabulous website at We Said Go Travel.

Lisa has published many articles in online and offline 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. In 2018, she was nominated in three categories of the Southern California Journalism Awards: Science/Technology Reporting; Travel Reporting; and Personality Profile. Impressively, this month she was nominated for the award once again in five categories, including Online Journalist of the Year.

Way to go, Lisa!

Special Ed teacher Carol King-Grant of South Bronx, NYC, succumbs to Covid-19

Posted on by

Beloved Special Education teacher Carol King-Grant, who taught sixth grade in South Bronx, succumbed to Covid-19 on April 6, 2020.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of yet another beloved educator who has succumbed to Covid-19. Carol King-Grant, a Special Education teacher from the South Bronx in New York City, passed away on April 6, 2020. She was 58 years old.

Carol taught sixth grade at Mott Hall Science and Technology Academy. The school offers a rigorous math, science, and technology curriculum. In addition, the staff strives to create a school culture characterized by academic excellence, healthy personal growth for all students, and a strong belief that all students can succeed in their endeavors.

Carol’s career at Mott spanned only four years. Although her time there was short, Carol was known for her unfailing smile, her kind heart, and her devotion to her students. Those who knew her also appreciated her sense of humor, her hard work, and her candor. “As a fellow educator, I am so proud of the woman my cousin Carol King-Grant was,” remarked mourner Aziza Leitch. “She never spared words, and you always knew exactly what she was thinking!”

Among her interests outside of the classroom were gardening, completing sudoku puzzles, and reading. In addition, Carol was a talented singer and an avid coin collector. She was adept at interior decorating. She was a member of the Liberty Bible Fellowship Church in Ozone Park, Queens, and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

To read more about Carol, see her obituary published by the United Federation of Teachers.

Becky Cooper garners an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award

Posted on by

West Virginia computer science educator Becky Cooper garners an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award.

Ten exceptional educators from around the country have garnered a Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award from Amazon. One of these is Becky Cooper, a teacher at Riverside High School in Belle, West Virginia.

Becky was recognized for her work helping students in under-served and under-represented communities build skills in computer science. “Computer science skills will be of vital importance as we take on and solve the challenges of the future,” declared Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer. This is the first year Amazon has offered the prize.

Becky has devoted 11 years to working with students in the classroom, all of them at Riverside High School. Before she became an educator, she spent more 14 years as an IT business programmer analyst for Columbia Gas Transmission in Charleston, West Virginia.

In 1986, Becky earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Data Processing from Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky. There she minored in Biology.In 2008, she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Teaching with an emphasis in Biology from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Each of the ten award-winning teachers received a prize package valued at over $50,000 to be used to benefit his or her school and students. In addition, Amazon is donating an additional $25,000 in school supplies, including Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablets, classroom essentials from AmazonBasics, and additional items from Amazon Essentials. Award recipients also received one full year of Amazon Music Unlimited and a 12-month Audible.com Gold Gift Membership. Becky and her fellow award-winners also received a $200 Amazon gift card to celebrate their hard work on behalf of computer science students across the country.

To learn more about all the winners of the award, see this link at Amazonblog.