Michele Dunaway: English teacher and author of popular romance novels

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Michele Dunaway, an English and Journalism teacher from St Louis, Missouri, has published more than 29 popular romance novels. Photo credit: Michele Dunaway

Students who were in the classes of Michele Dunaway, an English and Journalism teacher from Missouri, may be surprised to learn that their teacher is a popular author of romance novels. In fact, she has published over 29 romance novels and she has sold over 1.7 million books globally.

Michele was born on July 14, 1965, in St. Louis, Missouri. She says she decided she wanted to be a teacher and an author by the time she was in the third grade at Mary Queen of Peace School in Webster Groves. And she was writing, even at that young age. After she earned her diploma from Kirkwood High School in 1983, Michele launched into her college courses so she could achieve her goals. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 1987. She earned her Master’s degree at Webster University in 1996.

Once she earned her degrees, Michelle accepted a position as a middle school teacher in Fenton, Missouri. She worked there from 1994 to 2000. Next she taught for one year at the high school level in Brentwood, Missouri, and then she relocated to teach English at Pacific High School in Pacific, Missouri.

Michele published her first novel, A Little Office Romance, in 2000. The volume was the first in a long line of romance novels. Many of her books have a setting in her native St. Louis.

In 2012, Michele was named the High School Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

With all this success, would Michele quite teaching? “Writing is a job and a hobby so I’m always working,” she declares. “I also know that I will teach for a long time—it’s a myth that writers can immediately quit their day jobs, not that I want to do that right now anyway,” she continues. “I love to teach and write, so I’m living the best of both worlds,” she concludes.

You can read more about this Chalkboard Champion at her website.

Comfort Baker overcame adversity to become a respected teacher

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Comfort Baker over came family tragedy and adversity to become an educator in Omaha, Nebraska and elsewhere. Photo Credit: North Omaha History

I always enjoy shining a spotlight on outstanding educators. Educators such as Comfort Baker, an African American orphan from North Carolina who became a teacher in Arkansas, Texas, and Arizona. Her story is one of commitment, resilience, and perseverance.

Comfort was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on Feb. 15, 1870. Sadly, she became an orphan at the age of 13, and so she was sent to Omaha, Nebraska, to live with an aunt and uncle. She did well in school there, even earning recognition for her outstanding attendance.

When she was 15, Comfort enrolled at Omaha High School. Unfortunately, that same year her uncle also passed away, and her aunt became confined to a mental hospital.

Faced with the necessity of supporting herself, Comfort secured a job as a domestic in the household of Colonel Watson B. Smith and his wife, Fanny. In 1889, after three years of hard work, Comfort finally graduated from high school. She was the first female African American student to graduate from high school in Omaha, Nebraska. In a graduating class of 50 students, Comfort earned her diploma with honors.

Following her high school graduation, Comfort determined to enter the profession of teaching. She enrolled in Fisk University, a historically Black university located in Nashville, Tennessee. She was able to attend college with the financial assistance of Belle H. Lewis, a high school mathematics teacher in Omaha. Comfort earned her diploma, with honors, from Fisk in 1893. During her years in Omaha, Comfort also became a published author. She wrote numerous articles that were published by the Omaha newspaper, The Enterprise.

Comfort accepted her first teaching position when she became a summer school teacher for African American students in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, but by 1896 she was teaching in the town of Corsicana in Texas, and by 1905, she was teaching in Gainesville, Texas. A decade later she was teaching seventh and eighth grade at Frederick Douglas Grammar and High School in El Paso, where she was employed from 1914 to 1917.

In 1917, Comfort married, and with her husband she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. There she instructed courses in history, algebra, geometry, Latin, civics, and penmanship. She was the first African American teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District, where she taught for 21 years, serving several years as the principal of the school. During these years, Comfort continued to improve her professional techniques by completing courses at the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Comfort Blazer retired in 1940. In all, her career as an educator spanned 52 years. This highly-respected and distinguished trailblazer passed away on June 5, 1946, in Phoenix.

Thank you for your service, Veterans!

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Today is a day we have set aside to honor our United States Veterans. But the call to service is something that many service members don’t lose once they are discharged. That’s one of the reasons that so many veterans gravitate towards the teaching professions once their military service is complete. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 2% of teachers in our nation’s classrooms are military veterans.

Military veterans have many personality traits that make them particularly suited for a career in teaching. When entering the teaching profession, veterans are typically older and have had more varied life experiences. In addition, veterans can bring a wealth of leadership qualities to the classroom. An understanding of the importance of discipline, an appreciation of the value of education, the ability to adapt, and the capacity to work well, even under highly stressful circumstances, are some of the qualities that veterans can bring to the classroom. Also, often veterans possess the ability to persevere, which is a trait that is especially needed in a profession that has a high turnover rate.

Another valuable characteristic that many veterans possess is their potential to connect with students from ethnically diverse neighborhoods or lower-economic backgrounds, because many veterans themselves come from such circumstances. They understand from firsthand experience how challenging some school environments can be, and therefore may be more invested in helping to make a difference in such school systems. Furthermore, veterans have been especially trained to accomplish tasks collaboratively.

For these reasons, and many more, veterans are invaluable as Chalkboard Champions. So, today and every day, let’s celebrate our nation’s veterans who are also teachers!

Terry Lee Marzell and Kurby make a book-signing appearance

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Author Terry Lee Marzell and her spokes-dog Kurby made an author appearance at the Bark Around Ayala Park event held in he city of Chino on Sat., Nov. 9. Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Author Terry Lee Marzell and her celebrity spokes-dog Kurby made a book signing appearance at the Bark Around Ayala Park in Chino on Sat., Nov. 9. She was there to promote her latest book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, but she also signed copies of her other two books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes.

Terry Lee wrote her novel Unleashed! primarily for young people, but the volume has been declared delightful by adult readers, too. The story describes the adventures of the animals that live in the local dog park, and the dogs that visit the facility.

At the Bark Around Ayala Park extravaganza, one participant garnered a gift basket donated by the author to event organizers. The basket included a copy of the book, dog treats, and dog toys.