Category Archives: Education

Turn-of-the-century farm schools taught vocational skills

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Boys work the farm at the Lyman School for Boys in Massachusetts. In 1890, 190 boys lived at the school. Photo credit: Westborough Public Library

When we think of schools today, I think most of envision the standard classroom with one teacher and 30 or so students, a chalkboard or white board, students desks, a bulletin board, playground, and so on. But while I was conducting research for my first book Chalkboard Champions, I learned a great deal about various types of schools that I had never heard about in my 36 years as a teacher. Industrial schools, emancipation schools, farm schools, normal schools, specialist schools—just to name a few. In our nation’s past there were many types of schools that didn’t look like the picture of a standard classroom. One type of school I learned about that I found particularly intriguing is the farm school.

A farm school was a boarding school which primarily served teen-aged boys. These schools were most often established by missions or charitable organizations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The purpose of the farm school was to care for orphans and homeless youth, while simultaneously giving these youngsters the opportunity to learn a marketable skill which would enable them to find employment on farms in the Midwest or the South.

The farm school provided housing, food, and medical care. In addition to room and board, the school offered training in agricultural skills, and in fundamental literacy skills in such subjects as reading, writing, and mathematics.

Today, a farm school offers outdoors programs that teach learners to appreciate the importance of farm-to-table practices, healthier eating habits, preparation of our natural environment, and becoming active agents of change in their communities.

“Suffrage schools” helped to win the right to vote for women

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Educator and suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt established suffrage schools that helped women in the United States earn the right to vote.  Photo credit: Public Domain

When I read about remarkable teachers, I often come across terms that describe varieties of schools I have never heard of before. One such example is the term “suffrage schools.”

These schools were first developed in 1917 by suffragette Carrie Chapman Catt, a trained and experienced teacher. Her purpose in establishing these schools was to train women volunteers to become politically active and effective in their efforts to win the vote for women.

For the suffrage schools, Carrie developed innovative courses that focused on theories of government, political institutions, and practical applications. She also encouraged women to study state laws, identifying those that were specifically unfair to women, and working to change them. The curriculum also included such topics as public speaking, the organization of the US government, the history of the suffrage movement, how to develop a good relationship with the press, and how to use the press for influencing the electorate. Eventually the lessons taught in these schools paid off, for women won the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919.

You can read more about Carrie Chapman Catt and her suffrage schools in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes, available on amazon.

NSF suspends program that delivers PAEMST honors

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The US National Science Foundation has announced that, as of July 18, 2025, there will be a suspension in the program that delivers Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) to our nation’s most excellent educators of mathematics, science, and technology courses. Below is the full text of announcement posted on the official website for the PAEMST:

 

“On July 18, 2025, NSF announced that it will pause the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) and the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) programs until further notice. NSF administers these programs on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Her is the full text of the announcement:

Any nominations submitted during the previously scheduled Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 submission window will not be considered, and there will not be any nominations and applications accepted for FY 2026.

The pause allows NSF to conduct a comprehensive review of the programs. NSF remains committed to supporting the nation’s STEM teachers and mentors and looks forward to providing future updates.”

Since 1983, up to 110 outstanding educators from across the country have been recognized by the White House for their passion, dedication, and impact in the classroom each year. The awards have been administered by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honors recognize the importance that America’s teachers play in supporting learners who will become future STEM professionals, including computer technologists, climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. The honor comes with a meeting with the President and a $10,000 cash prize.

AK performing arts teacher Kelly Rentz named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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High school performing arts teacher Kelly Rentz has been named Alaska’s 2025 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Stetson University

There are many stellar teachers in our nation’s public schools, and every year, one from each state earns Teacher of the Year honors. One of these is Kelly Rentz, a performing arts teacher in Alaska. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Kelly teaches choir, drama, and Advanced Placement Music Theory at Colony High School (CHS) in Palmer, Alaska. She also serves as the Director of her school’s Drama Department; in fact, she has been the Director of Choirs and Drama at the campus since 2018. Furthermore, she founded a chapter of Tri-M, the National Honor Music Society and is the advisor for the National Thespian Society on her campus. She also serves as President of the Board of Directors for Valley Performing Arts in Wasilla, Alaska,.

As if all that were not enough, Kelly has coached color guard for the CHS Marching Band, The Northern Sound. The group has performed in the prestigious Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 75th Anniversary D-Day Memorial Parade in France, and the 2015 Bands of America Grand Nationals, where the group was awarded the Albert J. Castronova Esprit de Corps Award for “pride, spirit, enthusiasm, friendliness, camaraderie and unity of purpose.”

The honored educator says she encourages her students to involve themselves with the arts in their community. Her students take lead roles in large–scale community productions that she has directed, including Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, and Les Misérables. She says her students often volunteer to perform for charitable events.

Kelly confesses that her goal of becoming a teacher started back when she was still a child. “I loved playing teacher in my mom’s class after school with my friends,” she reveals. “I always knew I would become a teacher, and I always knew it would be music that I taught,” she continued.

Kelly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, in 1989.