Category Archives: Education

Fannie Richards: A teacher who worked for social change

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Detroit’s Fannie Richards, a dedicated teacher who worked for positive social change.

For me, one of the best characteristics of teachers is their willingness, ability, and dedication towards bringing about positive social change. A wonderful example of this is Fannie Richards. She was a Michigan schoolteacher who worked to desegregate Detroit public schools.

Fannie Richards was born on October 1, 1840, in Fredericksberg, Virginia. Her parents were free African Americans. As a young child, Fannie’s family moved to Toronto, Canada, where Fannie was enrolled in school. When she grew up, Fannie traveled to Germany, where she worked with innovative educator Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel to develop the first kindergartens. When she completed this work, Fannie returned to the United States and settled in Detroit, Michigan.

Always eager to learn new skills, Fannie enrolled at the Teachers Training School in Detroit. After her graduation, she became passionate about educating the African-American community of Detroit. Even decades before the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Fannie was advocating desegregation in Detroit schools. In 1863, while the Civil War was still raging, she opened a private school for African-American children in Detroit. A few years later, the Detroit Public School system opened a school for Black children, and when Fannie learned the school board planned to open a second school, she applied for a teaching position. In 1869, she was hired to teach in Colored School #2, the first African American teacher to work in Detroit Public Schools.

To Fannie’s delight, in 1871, the Michigan State Supreme Court ordered the integration of Michigan schools. That same year, the school board transferred Fannie to the newly desegregated Everett Elementary School. She taught there for 44 years. Fannie was known for her devotion to the children, using modern pedagogic methods, and maintaining a high standard of scholarship.

Fannie Richards retired in 1922 after more than fifty years as an educator. This chalkboard champion passed away on February 13, 1922, at the age of 81. She is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

To learn more about Fannie, click on this link to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

Chalkboard Champion Jami Witherell honored by Good Morning America

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I always love to share stories about inspiring teachers who receive accolades for their hard work in the classroom. One of these amazing teachers is Jami Witherell, a fifth-grade teacher from West Springfield, Massachusetts. She was honored today on the national television show Good Morning America.

Jami was recognized for her help in raising money to fund over 100 student projects.  As a teacher who works in a district with many low-income families, Jami has made it her mission to ensure every student in her classroom has whatever materials they need to succeed. To this end, she established accounts on Donors Choose to raise the funds needed to purchase those materials. This morning, the talented teacher was presented with $30,000 to help fund even more projects in the future.

“I’m overwhelmed with love, which is the best part of being a teacher,” Jami gushed. “I get to go to work every day and love all of you. So thank you for returning and sharing that love with me,” she declared.

Here’s the video of Jami receiving her honors that was aired by Good Morning America on ABC this morning.

9/11: Honor and Remember

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We honor and remember educators who perished in the 9/11 attacks. All four were lost when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.

Sarah Clark, Backus Middle School, Washington, DC

James Debuneure, Ketcham Elementary School, Washington, DC

Barbara Edwards, Palo Verde High School, Las Vegas, Nevada

Hilda Taylor, Madeleine v. Leckie Elementary, Washington DC

Bill Fink: Educator, debate coach, and Iowa State Senator

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William (Bill) Fink, retired high school social studies teacher and former Iowa State Senator.

Many superb educators also become excellent politicians. One of these is Bill Fink, a high school social studies teacher who also served as a state senator for Iowa.

Bill was born on May 5, 1955. He was raised in Ringsted, Iowa. Following his high school graduation from Ringsted High School in 1973, he enrolled in Iowa State University. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and his teaching certificate in 1977. He earned his Master’s degree in Education from Drake University in 1984.

Following his college graduation, Bill accepted a position teaching social studies at Carlisle High School. He also coached the school’s debate team. During these years, he was instrumental in founding the Iowa Debate League, which still exists.

In 1992, Bill was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the 45th District in the Iowa State Senate. He left the classroom to devote his energy to the legislature full-time. Bill spent a total of ten years in office. While in the legislature, he spent four years as the chair of the Natural Resources Committee. In this role, he was instrumental in establishing clean energy sources throughout his state. For his efforts, Bill garnered a prestigious legislative honor when he was named a BILLD Fellow. He was even invited to the White House in 1995.

In 2001, Bill criticized an attempt by the Iowa State Legislature to make Iowa the first state in the country to base its salaries for public school teachers on their performance in the classroom. Bill called the proposal “…tragic and misdirected.” He felt that teachers had been allowed too little input on the proposal.

Following his career as senator, Bill returned to the classroom at the high school level, where he taught government and economics. He served as a well-respected educator for the next three decades.

During his career, Bill joined many community organizations. He was a member of the Carlisle Community Education Association, the Polk Suburban Uniserve Unit, the Iowa State Education Association, the National Education Association, and the Iowa State University Alumni Association.

Bill’s 36-year career as an educator came to a conclusion in 2015 when he retired. The veteran educator left with sage advice for those who are new to the profession. His best advice, he says, is to know what you’re teaching. “New teachers will learn more by teaching than they ever will by being a student,” Bill asserts. “If you really want to learn something, teach it. If you do that well, you expand beyond just a text book. You expand beyond your own knowledge and that broadens your horizons,” he says.

To read more about Bill Fink, click on this link from the Des Moines Register.

San Antonio’s Greco, McEwen selected 2019 Teachers of the Year

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Here is a four-minute YouTube video which celebrates the work of two amazing educators in San Antonio, Texas. The first is Lacy Greco, a fourth grade teacher at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. The second is Krystal McEwen, a Special Education teacher at Bonnie Ellison Elementary School. Both  exceptional educators were honored as 2019 Elementary Teachers of the Year  for Northside Independent School District located in Leon Valley, a suburb of San Antonio, Texas.