IN visual arts educator Jonee Sutton earns prestigious honor

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Visual arts educator Jonee Sutton has been named one of ten top teachers in the state of Indiana. Photo Credit: Beech Grove City Schools

There are many fine visual arts educators who work in American schools. One of them is Jonee Adamson Sutton, who teaches in Beech Grove, Indiana. She has been named one of the top ten teachers in her state. The recognition highlights her unwavering dedication to her students and her outstanding contributions to the teaching profession.

Jonee teaches at Beech Grove Middle School in Beech Grove, Indiana. “Teaching middle school art is tough,” Jonee observes, “the attitude, the crazy, the loud, the lazy, but they are all on their way to becoming wonderful humans!” she says. Jonee has a reputation for nurturing creativity in her students, and for her commitment to fostering a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. She is known for her iinnovative teaching methods and genuine care for her students that have left an impact on her community. She inspires both her colleagues and her students to strive for excellence.

One of Jonee’s innovative programs is her “brave” camp, which she organized In 2015. The program was designed to build self-esteem through the arts and empowerment through creativity. To fund the camp, the innovative teacher secured financial support from the Beech Grove Education Foundation, Beech Grove Middle School teacher Jonee Sutton was able to offer a “brave” camp to these girls.

Jonee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts Education from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2004. Her career as an educator spans 21 years. 

The Indiana Teacher of the Year program celebrates the teaching profession by recognizing teachers who excel in their field. “Becoming a teacher is a calling, driven by the desire to make a difference in the lives of students,” asserts Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “The small, everyday actions of teachers have a profound impact, which can be felt for weeks, months, and even years to come,” she continued.

Congratulations, Jonee!

Author Terry Lee Marzell appears at Paws in the Park event in Chino Hills

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Author Terry Lee Marzell with her pooch Kurby at the Paws in the Park event at Vila Borba dog park in Chino Hills on Sat., Sept. 7, 2024. Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

Author Terry Lee Marzell made an author appearance at the Paws in the Park event held at Vila Borba dog park in Chino Hills on Sat., Sept. 7. There she introduced her new book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, released just last month.

Vila Borba is the setting for the novel, which is an engaging story written for children, but is also entertaining for adults as well. The episodes teach important life lessons about kindness, resilience, and personal responsibility.

Terry was accompanied by her husband, Hal, and her pooch, Kurby, who actually appears in the book as a character. Kurby’s story is the basis for the the character named Bowser. In addition to the dogs who visit the park, the characters include two rabbits, a raccoon, and a squirrel whose antics will make the reader laugh out loud.

The Paws in the Park event featured a doggie fashion show, pooch races, and vendors. The heat was intense, but the event was a rousing success!

 

Arkansas educator Jimmy Jeffress was also a capable politician

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Retired music educator Jimmy Jeffress served in both the state Arkansas House of Representatives and the State Senate. Photo Credit: Arkansas State Legislature

Many excellent educators have also experienced success in the political arena. One of these is Jimmy Jeffress, a retired teacher and politician from Arkansas. After he left the classroom, he served his community in both the Arkansas House of Representatives and the Arkansas State Senate.

Jimmy was born on Sept. 19, 1947, in Monticello, Arkansas. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1971. He earned his Master’s degree in Music Education from Northeast Louisiana University in 1986. In addition, he completed coursework through the Kennedy School of Government program at Harvard University.

After earning his degrees, Jimmy taught music education courses in Crossett Public Schools in Crossett, Arkansas. His career as an educator spanned 28 years, from 1971 through 1999. During those years, the outstanding educator garnered recognition for his work in the classroom. In both 1994 and 1998 Jimmy was named the Choral Director of the Year by the Southeast Arkansas Choral Directors Association.

In 1996, Jimmy was elected to the Arkansas State House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. There he represented District 24 from 1997 to 2000. Following his terms there, he served in the Arkansas State Senate from 2001 to 2009. While in the state legislature, he served as the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. He was also a member of the Committees for Children and Youth; Joint Budget; Joint Retirement and Social Security Systems; Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development; and Joint Energy. He also served as Chair of the Legislative Task Force on Athletic Trainers and as a member of the Task Force on Substance Abuse Treatment Services.

Jimmy earned honors for his work as a public servant, too. In 2001, he was chosen as the Legislator of the Year by the Arkansas Municipal League. In 2000, he garnered the Legislator of the Year Award from the Arkansas School Counselors Association.

NY Special Ed teacher Tess Hinchman garners 2024 Big Apple Award

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Virginia “Tess” Hinchman has named a recipient of the 2024 Big Apple Award by the New York City Department of Education. Photo Credit: Williamsburg Prep High School

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) does a fine job of recognizing their most outstanding teachers. This year, they have honored nearly 50 classroom educators who work in public schools within New York. One of these is Virginia “Tess” Hinchman, a Special Education and Language Arts teacher from Brooklyn. She has been named a recipient of their 2024 Big Apple Award.

Tess works at Williamsburg Preparatory School, a public high school located in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked at the school for three years. In her classroom, Tess develops curriculum that empowers her students to be in charge of their own learning. Her lessons emphasize learning through multiple modalities such as writing, discussion, and critique. She also develops engaging opportunities for students to make connections to real-world concepts.

Prior to her work at Williamsburg Prep, Tess taught in Madrid, Spain, where she traveled on a Fulbright Scholarship. There she d

This is not the only work that Tess has done with international students. She also worked as an ESOL Instructor and career mentor at the Irish International Immigrant Center in New York. And she also spent five months as a teaching assistant and volunteer at Foundation Minga Valpo at Valparaíso Province in Chile.

Tess graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a focus on Latin American Regional Studies from Tufts University, Massachusetts, in 2019. She earned her Master’s degree in Adolescent Education with a focus in Special Education and Teaching from Hunter College in 2023.

Congratulations, Tess!

Chalkboard Champion and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune

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Mary McLeod Bethune was a teacher, women’s rights activist, and civil rights leader. Photo Credit: NMAH, Smithsonian Institution

Many fine educators have also made significant contributions to their communities and to society as a whole. One of these is Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American teacher who was was also a women’s rights activist and civil rights leader.

Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, to former slaves in a log cabin on a plantation in Maysville, South Carolina. Her parents were Samuel and Patsy McLeod. Mary was the last of the couple’s 17 children, and the only one of the McLeod children to be born into freedom.

When the Civil War was won, Mary’s mother worked for her former owner until she could buy the land on which the McLeod family grew cotton. By nine years of age, young Mary could pick 250 pounds of cotton a day.

Even as a young child, Mary showed an unusual interest in books and reading. However, in those days it was rare for African Americans to receive an education. Nevertheless, a charitable organization interested in providing educational opportunities for Black children established a school near Mary’s home. Her parents could scrape together only enough money to pay the tuition for one of their children, and Mary was chosen. The future educator earned a scholarship to attend the Scotia Seminary, a boarding school in North Carolina. She graduated from there in 1894. She also attended Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in Chicago, Illinois. Her studies there spanned two years.

When she grew up, Mary retained her strong desire to extend educational opportunities to other African Americans. She established her career as a teacher. While teaching in South Carolina, she married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune. The union produced one son in 1899.

In 1904 Mary founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. Starting out with only five students, she helped expand the school to more than 250 students over the next few years. Today, this school is known Bethune-Cookman University.

In her later years, Mary became a close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and also a trusted adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt. In recognition of her outstanding abilities, the President made her a member of his unofficial “Black Cabinet.” He also appointed her the head of the National Youth Administration in 1936. In 1937 the indefatigable educator organized a conference on the Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth, and she fought tirelessly to end discrimination and lynching. In 1940, Mary became the Vice President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP), a position she held for the rest of her life. In 1945, she was appointed by President Harry Truman to be the only woman of color present at the founding meeting of the United Nations.

This celebrated educator passed away peacefully on May 18, 1955. For all her accomplishments, Mary McLeod Bethune is truly a Chalkboard Champion. To read more about her, see this link at the website for the National Women’s History Museum.