Original works by choir teacher Sheena Graham from Bridgeport, Connecticut, performed at the Obama White House.
Our nation is fortunate to have many fine educators for the performing arts. One of them is Sheena Graham, a high school choir teacher from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her original musical compositions have been featured at the Obama White House!
Sheena teaches at Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport. She inaugurated her career as an educator in 1983. In a career that has spanned more than 36 years, Sheena has taught Black History Chorale, peer leadership, theater, piano, and performing arts. She has also served as an adviser for her school’s poetry club, coached cheerleading, softball, and drill team, and instructed a dance troupe.
In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Sheena leads workshops in music literacy, creates teaching tools for colleagues, and works as an accompanist for local choirs. She also teaches free piano and drama classes at the Hall Neighborhood House Academy of Music and Fine Arts.
Prior to her work as an educator, she wrote original musicals which earned national recognition. Two of her compositions were presented at the White House: “My Destiny” in 2014 and “It’s Not How You Start” in 2016. Her composition “We Can if We Believe” was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in 2018. The topics of her musicals include dealing with teen years, coping with tragedy, and not allowing negative life circumstances to define a person’s destiny.
Sheena says her determination to become a choir teacher stemmed from childhood events. She was born with a speech impediment. As a result, she told one interviewer, she did not interact well with others. In fourth grade, an aunt signed her up for music lessons, thinking it might help. “It gave me a whole new world where I could feel safe and comfortable,” Sheena revealed. “I was more social.” As a teacher, Sheena has spent her entire career trying to ensure her students feel that same sense of safety, community, and kindness in her classroom.
For her work as an educator, Sheena has earned many accolades. She was featured in the book, “Notable Valley African Americans.” She received the Beard Excellence in Teaching Award, the Choral Director of Distinction Award, the National Association of Negro Business Professional Women Teacher of the Year Award, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Teacher of the Year Award. She was also named the 1995 Bridgeport Public Schools Teacher of the Year and 2019 Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Sheena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from St. Joseph’s College.
To learn more about this chalkboard champion, click on this link from the Connecticut Post: CCSSO.