Long-time teacher and principal Letha Raney was a pioneering educator in the Corona Norco Unified School District located  in Corona, in Southern California. Photo credit: From One Room…The 125-Year History of Corona-Norco-Eastvale Schools.

Many excellent teachers have served students in our nation’s public schools. One of these was Letha Raney, an honored elementary teacher and pioneering principal in Corona in Southern California.

Letha was born in Albany, Oregon, on Nov. 29, 1894. As her young child, she traveled to Corona, California, in a covered wagon with her parents, her sister, and four brothers. The family arrived in Corona by 1897. She attended elementary and secondary schools in the Corona Norco School District. In 1912, graduated as one of 19 members of the first graduating class  from Corona High School.

Once she earned her high school diploma, Letha completed courses in teacher training from Los Angeles State Normal School, which later became UCLA in 1919. She inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position at Rugby School in the Temescal Valley on the outskirts of Corona. By 1918, Letha was working as the principal of Washington Grammar School, the first woman principal in the Corona Norco Unified School District. By 1923, she became the principal of newly-established Corona Junior High School. She served there until her retirement in 1952. (By the way, this is the school where I began my own teaching career in 1981. I taught there for eight years!)

Letha Raney dedicated her entire professional life to educating Corona’s children. In recognition of her work and impact in the community, the Corona Norco School District built a new junior high school in 1966 and dedicated the building as Letha Raney Junior High School in her honor. She attended the cornerstone ceremony for the new school when construction first started. A time capsule was placed in the wall describing her achievements in education, but the capsule has, up to this date, not been opened.

Sadly, this remarkable Chalkboard Champion passed away on Dec. 14, 1983, in Orange, California. She is interred in Corona.