Category Archives: Education

Jahana Hayes: 2016 Teacher of the Year and candidate for Congress

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Jahanna Hayes

Government and history teacher Jahana Hayes runs for Congressional office as the representative for Connecticut’s 5th District.

In this year’s hotly-contested mid-term elections a record number of impressive teachers are running for public office. One of these is Connecticut’s Jahana Hayes, who was honored in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama. Jahana is running for a seat in the US House of Representatives in her quest to serve Connecticut’s 5th District. If elected in November, Jahana will become the first African American woman of either party to represent part of New England in Congress.

Jahana was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 8, 1973. Because her mother was a drug addict, Jahana was raised by her grandmother, and they lived in public housing projects in Waterbury. Even though Jahana became a teen mother at age 17, she overcame her obstacles and worked hard in school. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Southern Connecticut State and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Saint Joseph. In 2014, she earned her Sixth-Year Certificate from the University of Bridgeport School of Education.

Jahana accepted her first teaching position at Southbury Training School in Connecticut. Later she relocated to John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, where she taught government and history. In addition, she served as the chairperson of the Kennedy SOAR Review Board, a program for gifted students.

In 2015, Jahana garnered the John F. Kennedy Teacher of the Year award, and then the Waterbury School District Educator of the Year honors. In 2016, the teacher with the dazzling smile was named Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year. The same year President Obama recognized her as the National Teacher of the Year.

Below, view a 4 1/2-minute YouTube video of Jahana taken when she appeared at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in New York.

 

Oklahoma’s Marc Vancuren: Teacher and Political Candidate

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Marc Vancuren

High school biology teacher Marc Vancuren runs for Oklahoma State House of Representatives.

Today’s political climate is offering many opportunities to educators to serve their communities in venues outside of the classroom. One teacher who hopes to do this is Oklahoma’s Marc Vancuren, a high school biology teacher who is running for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

It makes perfect sense that Marc would pursue a career in teaching. His father was a junior high school principal, and his mother was a high school counselor. Marc attended Oklahoma Baptist University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1988, and Northeastern State University, where he earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2009.

The candidate’s career as an educator spans 30 years. In addition to teaching biology, he has coached golf, track, basketball, and baseball. Marc’s first teaching position was at Norman High School, where he taught and coached from 1999 to 2000. He then became an Assistant Basketball Coach at the University of Texas, where he worked from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2018, Marc taught and coached basketball at  Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma. He resigned from coaching to run his political campaign.

Marc says his bid for political office was the result of a concern and frustration regarding the current state of Oklahoma politics, especially with regards to issues related to education. Marc, who is running as a Republican, won his district’s primary in late June. Because there is no Democratic candidate running against him, this exemplary educator has already been declared the Representative-elect for District 74.

Arizona teacher Christine Marsh runs for seat in State Senate

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In today’s highly-charged political climate, there are many opportunities for hardworking and civic-minded educators to make significant changes that create improved classroom conditions. One educator who hopes to do this is Christine Marsh, a high school English teacher who is running for the office of Arizona State Senator.

Christine’s impressive career as an educator spans 26 years. For 24 years, she taught at Chaparral High School in the Scottsdale Unified School District. Her teaching assignment there included courses in Advanced Placement. Most recently, she taught at Cactus Shadows High School in the Cave Creek Unified School District. In 2016, this amazing educator was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Following her selection, she traveled to Washington, DC, to meet President Barack Obama.

If elected, Christine hopes to improve pay for classroom teachers in her state. “I’ve seen the impact systematic cuts to education have had on teachers and students,” Christine comments, observing that currently Arizona is next to the bottom in the nation for high school teacher salaries and at the bottom for elementary teacher salaries. “We lose a lot of teachers because of that, including really good ones who leave the profession and go do something that’s more lucrative, so they can sustain a family.”

Christine, who is running on the Democratic ticket, is hoping to oust Senator Kate Brophy McGee, the Republican incumbent who currently represents District 28. At present, Republicans control the Arizona State Senate by two seats. “I see an opportunity to flip the Senate, or at least create a tie,” she says.

Christine was raised in Scottsdale. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from UCLA in 1989, and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Grand Canyon University in 2016.

 

 

Former teacher Peter Tork: He doesn’t Monkee around

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Peter Tork

Musician and actor Peter Tork of the Monkees also worked as a teacher.

Former teacher Peter Tork doesn’t Monkee around. But there was a time in his life when he did.

In the mid-1960s, a pop band known as the Monkees hit the music scene with a few songs and a zany television show aimed at American teens. The band became, literally, an overnight sensation. Peter Tork, who played bass guitar and keyboards, was a member of that band. The other three members were Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Michael Nesmith.

Over the next five years, the group attempted to keep up with a whirlwind schedule that included weekly television sitcom episodes, studio recording sessions, national and international concert tours, and a full-length feature movie. The hard work paid off. Since they first hit the scene, the Monkees have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling groups of all time. Their best known songs are “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”

But the work schedule, creative differences with producer Don Kirshner, and infighting among the band members left Peter exhausted. In December, 1968, he bought out the remaining four years of his contract and left the Monkees. For the next few years, Peter drifted from one gig to another and spent or gave away all his Monkees earnings. By 1975, he’d hit rock bottom.

That’s when, even though he had dropped out of college, Peter accepted a position as a teacher at Pacific Hills School, a private secondary school in Santa Monica, California. He was hired to work there by Dr. Penrod Moss, the school’s director, because Moss was so impressed by Peter’s interview. “I like to hire people who are independent and creative,” Moss explained. “I was impressed by his personality and his ability to talk.” For Peter, a career in the classroom is not so odd when you consider that his father was an economics professor at the University of Connecticut for many years. At Pacific Hills, Peter taught many subjects, including English, math, drama, history, and music. He also served as a baseball coach at several schools. In all, Peter’s career as an educator spanned three years.

In 1986, the Monkees got together again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band. The following year they released a new studio album which earned measured success. Since then, Peter participated with fellow Monkees in numerous reunion shows and tours, until band member Davy Jones passed away in 2012.

In March, 2009, the former teacher was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, and later that year underwent extensive surgery. In September, 2009, he was declared cancer-free. Now age 76, Peter Tork resides in Mansfield, Connecticut.

 

 

Dr. Patricia Jordan inducted into the 2015 National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Patricia Jordan

New York’s Dr. Patricia Jordan inducted into the 2015 National Teachers Hall of Fame

It’s always gratifying to learn that a fellow educator has been singled out for special recognition. This happened to Dr. Patricia Jordan, a high school math teacher from New York who was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 2015.

Patricia earned her Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology African Studies from New York’s Vassar College in 1972. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education from City University of New York in 1974. She completed the requirements for her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Long Island’s Hofstra University in 1991.

Patricia inaugurated her career as an educator in 1972, when she accepted a position at New Haven Public High Schools. There she taught courses in consumer math and algebra. The next year she taught individualized math instruction at Park East Alternative High School, and the two years following that she taught general math at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., High School. From 1976 through 1980, Patricia taught general math, algebra, and geometry at Malverne High School, and from 1980 to 2001, she taught all math levels at Roslyn High School. In all, Patricia served 29 years as a professional educator before her retirement.

For her outstanding work in the classroom, Patricia has earned many honors. In 1993, she won the Humanitarian Award from the NAACP, she earned the Disney Teacher Award, and she was named the New York State Teacher of the Year. In 1995, she garnered the National Council of Negro Women Achievement Award, and in 1998, she was named a Tandy Corporation Technology Scholar. In 2004, Patricia was given the Chasing Rainbows Award from the Dolly Parton Foundation. And in 2015, this remarkable chalkboard champion was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Since her retirement from the teaching profession, Patricia has been a practicing clinical psychologist. She has also served as a volunteer tutor, and she is actively involved in alumni programs, professional organizations, and parent associations. With her sister, she established the Juanita James Memorial Scholarship Foundation in memory of their mother. This organization provides college scholarships to students from housing projects in the Bronx.

Feel free to view this short YouTube video that depicts the moment Patricia learned she had been honored by the National Teachers Hall of Fame.