Category Archives: Education

Civil Rights activist Septima Poinsette Clark: “The Mother of the Movement”

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Teacher Septima Poinsette Clark was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. In fact, she was often called “The Mother of the Movement.” Photo Credit: Bob Fitch photography archive, © Stanford University Libraries

Septima Poinsette Clark was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr., often called her “The Mother of the Movement.” In fact, this remarkable educator earned the Martin Luther King, Jr., Award in 1970, the Living Legacy Award in 1979, and the Drum Major for Justice Award in 1987.

Septima was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 3, 1898. Her father was born a slave, and her mother, although born in Charleston, was raised in Haiti and never experienced slavery. After Septima graduated from high school in 1916, she didn’t have the money to finance her college education. Nevertheless, she landed a position as an elementary teacher in a school for African American Gullah children on John’s Island in South Carolina’s Sea Islands. By 1919, Septima returned to Charleston to teach sixth grade at Avery Normal Institute, a private academy for Black children. Before long, Septima became involved with Charleston’s NAACP, which inaugurated her involvement in Civil Rights activities. In the 1940s, Septima was finally able to return to school, taking summer school courses to earn her college degree. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Benedict College and her Master’s from Hampton University.

In the 1950s Septima found herself working at the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. She was instrumental in fighting against Jim Crow laws by organizing citizenship schools to teach underprivileged African Americans basic literacy skills, voter registration techniques, and the history of the Movement. At Highlander, Septima served as the director of workshops, trained teachers, and recruited students.One of the participants in her workshops was Rosa Parks. Shortly after participating in the Highlander workshops, Rosa helped launch the now-famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Septima Clark passed away on John’s Island on December 15, 1987, of natural causes. This talented and dedicated teacher was 89 years old.

Music educator Andrew Arnold of Utah garners recognition

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Many excellent educators overcome personal adversity in order to improve the lives of their students. One of these is Andrew Arnold, a music educator at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton, Utah. He has garnered a 2023 UEA/Clark and Christina Ivory Foundation Excellence in Teaching award.

Andrew has overcome a great deal of personal adversity in order to be in the classroom. In fact, he overcame a spinal cord injury that initially left him unable to walk. Today, he depends on his grit and perseverance to inspire students in a thriving band program at Shoreline Junior High School in the Davis School District. He actively supports his students, ensuring they all have access to instruments, regardless of their financial circumstances.

For his work with young people, Andrew was one of ten educators recognized with a 2023 UEA/Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation Excellence in Teaching award during the KeyBank Superstars in Education banquet. Award recipients were selected for their impact on individual students or groups of students. Each winner received a crystal trophy and a check for $1,500, from the award sponsor, the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation.

To learn more about Andrew Arnold, view the three-minute YouTube video below:

Arts educator Elma Ina Lewis earned many prestigious honors

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Arts educator Elma Ina Lewis received a Presidential Medal for the Arts by Pres. Ronald Regan in 1983. Photo Credit: The National Alliance of Black School Educators

Many talented educators have used their considerable expertise to enrich others in their community. One of these was Elma Ina Lewis, an American arts educator who was so successful at promoting the arts that she received a Presidential Medal for the Arts by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Elma was born on Sept. 15, 1921, in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of immigrants who came to the United States from Barbados in the early 20th century. As a young woman, Elma worked her way through college by acting in local theatre productions. In 1943, she graduated from Emerson College, and in 1944, she earned her Master’s degree from the Boston University School of Education.

To share her love of the theater, Elma founded both The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in 1950. Her school, which emphasized music and dance, was attended by many students who found work in Broadway musicals and who built professional careers in the theater. Among them were Kenneth Scott who performed in The Wiz on Broadway, and Leslie Barrow who built a distinguished career dancing and teaching dance in Germany. Later, Elma founded the National Center of Afro-American Artists which served as an umbrella organization for the performing arts school, local arts groups, and a museum. She also developed the Technical Theatre Program at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute. Through this program, 750 inmates at the Norfolk Prison staged performances and learned skills such as musical composition. In 1972 the book Who Took the Weight? Black Voices from Norfolk Prison included work by ten inmates who were writers and artists. Elma wrote the forward for the volume.

For her work in fostering the arts, Elma received the Commonwealth Award, Massachusetts’ highest award in the arts, and nearly 30 honorary doctorates from universities, including both Harvard and Brown. In Oct. 2003, the National Visionary Leadership Project at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts named Elma a Visionary Elder. Musician Ray Charles and historian John Hope Franklin were similarly honored the same night. Also, Elma was one of the first recipients of a MacArthur Fellows Grant in 1981. In 1983, she garnered a Presidential Medal for the Arts from President Ronald Reagan.

Sadly, this amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away from complications from diabetes on Jan. 1, 2004, in Boston. She was 82 years old.

Aimee Couto recognized as Rhode Island’s 2024 Teacher of the Year

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Rhode Island elementary school teacher  Aimee Couto has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: University of Rhode Island

It is always my pleasure to shine a spotlight on exceptional educators who have earned recognition for their work with young people. One of these is Aimee Couto, an elementary school teacher from Rhode Island. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Aimée teaches first grade at Emma G. Whiteknact School located in East Providence, Rhode Island. She has been teaching there for the past 13 years. In her classroom, she is a strong advocate for project-based learning and the development of competent reading practices.

In addition to her work with first graders, the honored educator serves as a teacher leader on her campus and within her district. She helps guide several programs centered around positive social and emotional development at Whiteknact, she serves on the school improvement team, and she is her district’s facilitator for the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) program.

Aimee was raised in a military family, which means that as a child she frequently moved all over the United States. She has lived in the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, and New Hampshire, to name just a few. As a youngster, Aimee was considered a struggling reader. “Because we moved every two or three years, I always struggled with reading,” Aimee confesses. “As I have studied and taken many courses about the science of reading, I have come to realize that my teachers didn’t have the knowledge to help me progress, especially when it came to those frequent family moves. It’s why it’s so important that we come up with a national right-to-read act so we are all on the same page,” she declares. Today, Aimee has developed a classroom curriculum that fosters strong reading skills for her young students.

Aimee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Rhode Island in 1996, and a second Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Rhode Island College.

To read more about Aimee Couto, click on this link to an article about her published by the University of Rhode Island.

Louisa Alexander: One of the first Black women to attend Oberlin College

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Louisa Lydia Alexander

Tombstone of Louisa Lydia Alexander.

This year’s celebration of Black History Month gives us the opportunity to recognize African American individuals that may otherwise go unrecognized. Our country’s history is full of stories of amazing African American pioneer educators. One of these is Louisa Lydia Alexander, an educator from the South who was one of the first Black women to attend Oberlin College.

Louisa was born at Mays Lick, Kentucky, on November 2, 1836. She was one of five daughters born to Henry and Lucy Alexander. Her father had been born a slave, but had been able to purchase his freedom when he was 21 years old. Once Henry was a free man, he became a merchant. Lucy and Henry worked tirelessly to earn money to send their daughters to school.

In 1950, Louisa was admitted to Oberlin College located in Oberlin, Ohio. Oberlin was the first American institution of higher learning to admit women students, and one of the first i the country to admit Black students. After studying for six years, Louisa completed the requirements for the Ladies Teaching course. She had earned her degree.

Following her college graduation, Louisa launched a lengthy career as an educator, teaching in numerous towns in the South, including Charleston, South Carolina; Marietta, Georgia; Henderson, Kentucky; Cumberland, Mississippi; Red Banks, Mississippi; Mays Lick, Kentucky; St. Mark, Alabama; and Giles Plantation, Mississippi.

This amazing pioneer educator passed away in Washington, DC, on August 18, 1911, at the age of 74. She is interred in Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio.