Category Archives: Education

RI STEM teacher Elizabeth “Liz” Patterson wins prestigious award

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Rhode Island STEM teacher Elizabeth “Liz” Patterson has been named the 2023 Carol Giuriceo Computer Science Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Computer Science 4 Rhode Island

I am always eager to share the story of an exceptional educator who is working in one of our nation’s public schools. Today, I shine the spotlight on Elizabeth Patterson, a high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) teacher from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. She was named the 2023 Dr. Carol Giurica Computer Science Teacher of the Year.

The annual award traces it’s origin back to 2021, when the Rhode Island Computer Science (CS) Teacher of the Year Award was established in honor of educator Dr. Carol Giuriceo, a frontrunner and champion of Computer Science instruction throughout the state of Rhode Island. Carol was passionate about including a variety of perspectives in all areas of her work. The award recognizes teachers who embody and advance the impact of Carol’s work through collaboration, leadership, and innovation. Elizabeth Patterson, who was actually a participant in the team that worked closely with Carol to develop the Rhode Island State Computer Science standards, is certainly a worthy candidate for the award. Liz has a history of advocating vociferously for Computer Science in her school and district, which has led to increased opportunities for all Portsmouth students to engage in and further pursue computer science.

Elizabeth, who prefers to be called “Liz”, teaches STEM courses at Portsmouth High School. She teaches Math, Computer Science, and Advanced Placement Computer Science. In her courses, Liz includes lessons on Java, video game development, and computer science principles. In 2014, she advised a team of 10 students from her school as they participated in a computer competition run by the US Air Force to help combat cyberterrorism. Acting as a team, the students worked to discover such threats as malware, password violations, and unnecessary services as part of the CyberPatriot Defense Program.

To learn more about Elizabeth Patterson or Dr. Carol Giurica, click here.

Dr. Beverly Prosser: Prominent teacher and psychologist

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Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser was a prominent public school teacher, university professor, and psychologist. Photo Cedit: Find a Grave

It’s Women’s History Month, and in honor of the many outstanding educators who have made significant contributions to our nation’s history, we shine a spotlight today on Inez Beverly Prosser, a prominent African American pubic school teacher, university professor, and psychologist.

Even as a child, Inez was passionate about education. When her parents could only afford to send one of their children to college, she persuaded her to choose her to be the one. The choice was a wise one. After she completed her degree, Inez was able to put five of her siblings through school.

After earning her degree at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black college northwest of Houston, Inez inaugurated her career as a teacher in Austin, Texas. She taught first in a Black elementary school, and then at a high school. Her career as a public school teacher spanned the years of 1913 through 1926, when Inez graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from Samuel Huston College in Austin. In 1933, she earned her Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado. She went on to earn her PhD in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Her research was one of several studies conducted in the 1920s and 30s about how segregated schools under the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 affected students.

Inez was among the first group of African American women who ea and she was the first to earn a Doctorate in Psychology. Her presence on the cover of The Crisis in August 1933 celebrated the importance of her achievement.

In September, 1934, on her way to Mississippi after visiting family in Texas, she was killed in a car accident in Louisianna. She was just 38 years old.

Arkansas PE teacher Melissa Bragg garners 2023 SHAPE Award

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Melissa Bragg, a physical education educator from Bryant, Arkansas, has been honored as the 2023 High School Physical Education  Teacher of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE). Photo Credit: SHAPE

In today’s world of high technology, sometimes it is difficult to get young people involved in physical fitness activities. Melissa Bragg, an exemplary junior high school physical education teacher from Arkansas, is working hard to change that.

Melissa teaches in Bryant, Arkansas. This exceptional educator, whose career in the Bryant School District spans 18 years, has been honored with the title of 2023 High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Arkansas. This recognition recognizes her outstanding teaching skills, her innovative methods, and her steadfast commitment to her students’ physical and mental well-being.

Melissa’s classroom is a place where students learn about physical fitness, in addition to teamwork, sportsmanship, and fair play. Her commitment to promoting these important values is evident in her daily interactions with her students. She instills in them a strong sense of responsibility and respect for one another, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment.

Since the organization was founded in 1885, the SHAPE organization has advanced the cause of excellence in school-based health education and physical education.  The organization collaboratively developed National Health Education Standards physical education programs, which provide the framework for effective skills-based health education instruction for all K-12 students. To read more about the organization, click on this link to SHAPE.

 

NM teacher Margaret Herrera Chavez was also a celebrated artist

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There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who have distinguished themselves in other professions. Elementary school teacher and celebrated artist Margaret Herrera Chavez is a shining example of this.

Margaret was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1912, the daughter of ranchers. She was raised in Gascon, Mora County, New Mexico. As a young woman, Margaret worked as an elementary school teacher. For a time, she also worked for the Works Progress Administration.

Margaret Herrera ChavezIn addition to teaching, Margaret was a self-taught artist. She painted primarily in watercolors and oils, and experimented with printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. She later completed formal training at Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She also attended the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and the Instituto San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The natural environment of northern New Mexico where she was raised provided the greatest inspiration for Margaret’s art. Her pieces featured mostly broad landscapes painted in light colors. Margaret’s Nuevo Mexicana art pieces were so exceptional that she was able to exhibit her work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she won several prizes. Currently, her pieces are part of the permanent collection of Highlands University, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Museum of International Folk Art.

In addition to her own successes, the former teacher was eager to promote the work of other emerging women artists. She was able to accomplish this as a member of the Hispanic Cultural Society, the New Mexico Education Association, and the National Education Association. She also served as the president of the Albuquerque branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

Margaret passed away in Alburquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in 1992. To read more about this educator and artist, see Printmakers You Should Know.

NE elem teacher Ivette Kinney earns 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom award

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Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Omaha, Nebraska, has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Photo Credit: Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation

Many educators all over the country are featuring farm to table curriculum in their classrooms. One of these is Ivette Kinney, an elementary school teacher from Nebraska. In fact, she has done such a great job with her curriculum that she has earned a 2024 Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.

Ivette teaches second grade at Mari Sandoz Elementary School in Omaha. In her classroom, she incorporates agriculture in her lesson-planning through a program called Classroom Visits sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Ivette signed up for classroom visits, and later she recruited her entire second-grade team to participate. Now, every second-grade student on her campus participates in a Classroom Visit during the course of the year.

Included with Ivette’s Teacher of the Year honors is a $250 Amazon gift card, an agriculture book bundle, and an expense-paid trip to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. The conference, which will be held June 24-27, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah, brings educators together from all over the country to learn how to use agricultural concepts to effectively teach core subjects such as reading, math, science, and social studies. The conference features recognition for Teacher of the Year honorees, educational workshops, traveling workshops to agri-businesses and research facilities, and farm tours.

The mission of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is to engage young people, educators, and the general public to promote an understanding of the vital importance of agriculture in the lives of all Nebraskans. For more information about the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, visit www.nefbfoundation.org. And here is a two-minute You Tube video about Ivette.