Category Archives: Education

Teacher, coach, and former professional football player Herb Banet

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Teacher, coach, counselor, and former professional football player Herb Banet. Photo credit: Manchester University

When I think of Chalkboard Champions, I never forget all of our nation’s talented coaches. These dedicated professionals work many long hours with our young people, teaching them the value of self-discipline, healthy competition, fair play, and teamwork, and helping them to choose a healthy, active lifestyle. One such Chalkboard Champion is Herb Banet, a high school teacher, basketball coach, and guidance counselor from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Herb was born in 1913 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a high school student, he was a gifted athlete.  At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, he earned All-City Honors in both football and basketball. After his graduation from Fort Wayne South High School in 1933, he attended Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana, where he played collegiate football. While at Manchester, Herb played All-Conference Football and All-State Football in 1934, 1935, and 1936. During the 1937 season, Herb played in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers.

As if all this were not enough, Herb was also a war hero. When World War II broke out, he served his country in the US Navy.

These experiences served him well during his eighteen-year career as a coach at Central High School in Fort Wayne. While coaching there, his team made one trip to the Final Four in 1960, where they were defeated by just one point by East Chicago Washington. Later in Herb’s career he served as a guidance counselor at Northrup High School. This talented educator retired in 1979. In recognition of his illustrious career as an athlete, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Herb Banet passed away in 2003 at the age of 89 years of age. He is buried at Falls Memorial Gardens in Wabash, Indiana. It is certain that his efforts as a gifted teacher, coach, and counselor will always be well-remembered.

DC educator Samiyyah Branford named finalist for PAEMST

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DC educator Samiyyah Blanford was named a finalist for a coveted 2024 K-6 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Photo credit: DC Public Schools

There are many outstanding educators who are working in America’s public schools. One of these is Samiyyah Branford, a teacher from the Washington DC area. She has been named as a 2024 K-6 finalist for a recognition for a coveted Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The PAEMST, Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, recognize the dedication, hard work, and 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 PAEMST program, founded in 1983, is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honor comes with a meeting with the President and a $10,000 cash prize.

Samiyyah teaches mathematics to second graders at CW Harris Elementary School, a public school which logs a 99% minority enrollment..”My passion for teaching stems from the love that was poured into me by educators who believed in me despite my circumstances,” declares Samiyyah. “I want to be the positive influence that instills values such as empathy, integrity, and resilience within all of my scholars,” she says.

The honored educator’s career as a professional educator spans more than 20 years. In that time, the PAEMST award is not the only recognition she has receive. In 2023 she was one of 100 educators honored by the Walt Disney Corporation for bringing creativity and imagination to her curriculum.

Samiyyah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Rutgers University in 2002. She earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Washington Trinity University in 2013. She earned a second Master’s degree in Education and Instructional Technology in 2019.

AR elementary teacher Jeanie Wilcoxon named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school educator Jeanie Wilcoxon of Little Rock, Arkansas, was named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Jeanie Wilcoxon

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for her work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Jeanie Wilcoxon, an elementary school teacher from Arkansas. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Jeanie teaches mathematics to fourth graders at Chenal Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Over the course of her 25 years as a professional educator, she has developed a proven method for helping her students succeed. In fact, her students consistently score in the top 3% of all math students in her state. And her students consistently maintain high math scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association, with 80% of her students meeting their goals for growth in math.

In addition to her work at Chenal Elementary, the honored educator has also served at the high school level as an Assistant Volleyball Coach from 2016 to 2022. From 2010 to 2011, she was a fifth-grade language arts teacher in the Dumas School District, and prior to that, she taught multiple grades in Iberville Parish Schools in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Jeanie’s selection as Arkansas’s 2025 Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition she has received. In 2007 she was named Iberville Parish Teacher of the Year. She was also named the Pulaski County Special School District Teacher of the Year for 2023-2024 and the Iberville Parish Teacher of the Year the same year. She is a member of the Order of Omega leadership honor society.

Jeanie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Secondary Physical Education from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She earned her teaching certificate in Elementary Education from Louisiana State University. In addition, she has experience working as a tutor and a mentor teacher.

Congratulations, Jeanie Wilcoxon!

Prudence Crandall: The intrepid teacher named Connecticut Female State Hero

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Prudence Crandall

Teacher Prudence Crandall: The Chalkboard Hero who taught African American students. Photo credit: Public Domain

There are many courageous teachers who have made great sacrifices for the sake of their students. One of these was Quaker Prudence Crandall, a Connecticut teacher who lost everything she owned in order to educate African American girls in a time when doing so was unheard of.

In 1831, Prudence opened a boarding school for young ladies in Canterbury, Connecticut. By the end of the first year, she had earned the praise of parents, community members, and students throughout New England.

Then one day an African American student named Sarah Harris asked to be admitted to the academy. Sarah said she wanted to learn how to be a teacher so she could open her own school for Black students. Prudence knew admitting an African American student would generate some resistance from her neighbors, but after some soul-searching, she decided her conscience and her religious convictions would not allow her to refuse the request. Unfortunately, Prudence had severely under-estimated the resistance she would encounter for this decision.

Figuring the complaint from her detractors was that she was operating an integrated school, the intrepid teacher closed her academy for white girls and re-opened as an academy for “misses of color.” That just made the situation worse. Her action caused ripples all the way up to the US Supreme Court and resulted in Prudence’s brief incarceration in the local jail. After lawless community members set fire to her school, Prudence was forced to close the academy and leave town.

Years later, however, the courageous stance taken by Prudence Crandall resulted in the intrepid teacher being named the Female State Hero for Connecticut. You can read more of the gripping account of what happened in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes, now available on amazon.com.

Kansas teacher Mamie Dillard was a suffragist and civil rights activist

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Kansas teacher Mamie Dillard was a suffragist and civil rights activist. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many excellent classroom teachers also work tirelessly to improve society as a whole. One of these is Mamie J. Dillard, an African American teacher and suffragist from Kansas.

Mamie was born Mary Jane Dillard in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, on September 10, 1874. Although her name was Mary Jane, she always preferred to be called Mamie. Her parents, Jesse and Fannie Dillard, were both born in Virginia. Neither of them could read or write. The family moved to Kansas in 1870.  As a young girl, Mamie was an excellent student. She graduated from Lawrence High School with top grades. In fact, she was the only African American in her graduating class.

The future educator earned her Bachelor’s degree from Kansas University in 1896. Once she earned her degree, she launched her career as an educator at the Pinckney Elementary School in Lawrence. One of her most famous students there was famous Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. In 1909, Mamie attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, where she studied English and special education. Once she completed her courses there, she accepted a position as the principal of the Lincoln School, a local segregated elementary school. In addition to her responsibilities at the school, Mamie was appointed delegate to the Negro National Educational Congress in 1916.

All her life, Mamie devoted herself to improving her community. She was an ardent activist for women’s suffrage. She promoted rights and votes for women and civil rights and leadership for the African Americans in her area. She was active in the African American Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. She was also a member of the Double Six Club, the Home and Garden Club, and the Sierra Leone Club. In addition, she was a patron of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.  in 1933, of the Self Culture Club, a local organization for African American women. In 1933, Mamie became a member of the Self Culture Club, an organization that promoted education and community building among working mothers.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in her home town of Lawrence on November 24, 1954. She was 80 years old. She was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.

To read more about Mamie Dillard, see this article printed online in the Kansaspedia.