Connecticut teacher Miguel Cardona now serves as US Secretary of Education

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Former Connecticut elementary teacher Miguel Cardona now serves as the US  Secretary of Education. Photo credit: Hop, Skip, Drive

Many excellent educators also make excellent politicians. One of these is Miguel Cardona, an elementary school teacher from Connecticut who is currently serving as United States Secretary of Education.

Miguel describes his Hispanic heritage as “half Guatemalan and half Portuguese.” As a child growing up in the Projects in Connecticut, he spoke only Spanish, which gave him a unique insight into the experience of students who identify as “English language learners” across the country today.

Miguel earned his Bachelor’s degree at Central Connecticut State University in 1997. He earned his Master’s degree in Bilingual/Bi-Cultural Education from the University of Connecticut, and in 2011 he earned his PhD in Education from the same institution. In addition, he completed the requirements for a certificate in the Executive Leadership Program.

Miguel inaugurated his career as a fourth grade teacher at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut. By 2003, when he was only 28 years old, he was named the principal of Hanover School, also located in Meriden. He was the youngest principal serving in the state. In 2012, Miguel garnered the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for his state and the Outstanding Administrator Award from the University of Connecticut’s NEAG School of Education. He’s also a published author. He has published several articles in such prestigious publications as the AASPA Perspective, the National School Boards Association, District Administration, and the Scholars Strategy Network.

From 2015 to 2019, Miguel served as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in his home town. He also worked worked as an Adjunct Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Connecticut. In August 2019, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont appointed Cardona as the state’s Commissioner of Education, the first Latino to ever serve in the position.

President Joe Biden nominated the former elementary school teacher for the post of US Secretary of Education, and a coveted seat in the President’s Cabinet. On March 1, 2021, Miguel Cardona was confirmed to the post. He was sworn into office the next day by Vice President Kamala Harris.

To read more about Miguel Cardona, click on this link to Hop, Skip, Drive.

 

Deaf Education teacher Dana Miles named Washington State’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Deaf Education teacher Dana Miles has been named Washington State’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: League of Education Voters Foundation

It is always a pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. One of these is Dana Miles, a secondary teacher who has been named the 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year.

As an educator, Dana is a “jack of all trades.” She teaches English, Applied Bi-lingual Language Arts (BLA), Work Experience, Special Education, Consumer Math, and Homeroom Advisory to grades 9 –12 at the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD) in Vancouver, Washington. In her classroom, Dana works on helping her students become bi-lingual in American Sign Language and English, and to become career proficient and life ready. When developing curriculum, Dana employs real-world scenarios—such as resume writing, finding independent housing, and navigating transportation system—to help her students become confident adults and achieve work success so they can live independently. She works tirelessly to equip her students for the real world by teaching them to advocate for themselves, and she strives to build a more inclusive society by expanding community partnerships and work opportunities.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Dana is also a member of a statewide transition committee with the outreach team of the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth. The team develops learning materials for deaf and hard of hearing students across the state. Dana says she was inspired to become a teacher in the program as a result of her own experiences as a second-generation deaf educator. Her parents were both deaf educators, and they were careful to provide her with a language-rich environment in American Sign Language and English.

Dana is, herself, a former student of the high school where she now teaches. She graduated from WSD in 1993. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and English from Gallaudet University in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in Deaf Education from the same university in 2000. Gallaudet University, founded in 1864, is a private, federally-chartered university located in Washington, DC. The institution provides quality education for deaf and hard of hearing students.

 

Nominate a Chalkboard Champion for this blog

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There are so many talented educators out there that by myself I cannot possibly find out about them all. How about some help? Do you know a remarkable teacher? Someone everyone looks up to: students, parents, and administrators alike? Someone who serves as a model for the profession? A true Chalkboard Champion? This teacher could be someone who is already retired, or even someone from history that you admire.

You can nominate that educator to be the subject of a blog post on this web site. Simply use the contact form to send me the name of your nominee, the email information for the teacher you would like to nominate, and maybe a couple of sentences about why you are nominating them. I’ll do the rest!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Deelah Jackson named a finalist for 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year

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Exceptional educator Deelah Jackson of Manatee County, Florida, has been named one of five finalists for her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Florida Department of Education

There is a classroom of fourth grade students at Samoset Elementary School in Manatee County, Florida, that are fortunate to have Deelah Jackson as their teacher. This exceptional educator engages her students with high-quality lesson plans, and incorporates singing and movement into her curriculum. And she is especially passionate about teaching math.

Deelah has worked at Samoset Elementary since 2015. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she is a member of the Samoset School Advisory Council, and the school’s emergency response team. She is also the Site Director for the Extended Day Enrichment Program (EDEP) and helps coach the school’s VEX Robotics competition team.

Deelah originally hails from Indiana. After graduating from high school, she first attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, on a scholarship. However, she completed the requirements for her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. After earning her degree in 1995, she worked with at-risk youth

For her work in the classroom, Deelah has been named one of five finalists for 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year. The other four finalists were Jennifer Jaso, a social studies teacher at Sarasota Middle School in Sarasota County; Melissa Matz, a seventh-grade math teacher at Lakeside Junior High School in Clay County; Trinity Whittington, a fourth-grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Bell Elementary School in Gilchrist County; and Seema Naik, a fourth-grade teacher at Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Broward County.

Congratulations, Deelah!

Connecticut teacher Kristen Record inducted into the NTHF

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Dr. Kristen Record of Stratford, Connecticut, has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Kristen Record

Hearty congratulations are due to educator Dr. Kristen Record of Stratford, Connecticut. She has been inducted into the 2023 Class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

The honored educator teaches Honors Physics to juniors and seniors at Bunnell High School in Stratford. She also serves as the Senior Class Advisor. She also participates on her District’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Team. Further, she is active ion her local teachers’ union, service as the Secondary Vice President and the Chairperson of the Contract Negotiations team. Her career as an educator spans 23 years, all of them in Stratford Public Schools.

She was just a little girl when Kristen’s passion for teaching started. “When she was four years old, she would line up her stuffed animals like they were in a classroom, and she would teach them,” recalls Daniel Record, Kristen’s father, who was also a physics teacher. Her mother, Carolyn, and her brother and sister-in-law are also teachers.

Kristen’s advice for a beginning teacher? “Observe. Visit as many classrooms as possible. Observe what to emulate and what to avoid,” Kristen advises. “Great students at the door. Observe the energy they bring, and learn what’s going on beyond academics,” Kristen continues. And one more thing: take time to recreate, she advises. “Vacations are vacations. Observe them as such so you can recharge and be your best self at school,” she concludes.

Her induction into the NTHF is not the only recognition Kristen has earned. In 2022 she was involved in the 100K in 10 Teacher Forum. The Nation Education Association Foundation honored her with their California Casualty Award for Teacher Excellence in 2020. She earned a Global Learning Fellowship in 2015, and she became a Fellow of the National STEM Policy Institution at MIT/George Washington University. In 2011, she was named Connecticut’s State teacher of the Year. In 2009, she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Kristen earned her Bachelor’s degree in Science Instruction and Study from Southern Connecticut State University in 2006. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2000.

To learn more about Dr. Kristen Record, click on this link to the NTHF.