Florida teacher Chanique Davis uses door art to teach inclusivity

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Florida teacher Chanique Davis uses door at to send messages of inclusion to her students. Photo credit: WFTS Tampa Bay

One of the most exciting activities that take place during Black History Month is the door-decorating contests. And one of the most creative teacher to create decorated doors is Chanique Davis, an elementary school teacher from Lake Alfred, Florida. She uses the door art to send messages of inclusion to her students.

Chanique teaches art at Lake Alfred Elementary School in Polk County. She began decorating her classroom door when she first started teaching at the school five years ago. In addition to creating displays for Black History Month, the innovative teacher decorates her door for other cultural events, including Hispanic Heritage Month and Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “I really wanted to create an image for my students to see that represented them in every different culture,” Chanique explained. “Something that they could be excited about and something that would bring about discussion in my class.”

Her clever displays are more than just decorations, Chanique says. They are an innovative teaching tool. “I want them to be better people. I want them to grow up being great individuals,” she continues. “The doors are ways that I can teach them life and not just art. I put the two of them together with art and life together, and that’s what I use these doors for,” she concludes. She even persuades the students to have input on the design and content of the doors.

“When these kids see these doors, they are so excited,” asserts Chanique. “They think. They’re wowed by it, and a lot of them are involved in the creation of the piece.”

Teacher Christine Marsh elected to serve in the AZ State Senate

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English teacher Christine Marsh has been elected to serve in the Arizona State Senate. Photo credit Arizona State Legislature

Many excellent classroom teachers have also pursued a career in politics. One of these is Christine Marsh, an English teacher who was elected to serve in the Arizona State Senate in 2020.

Christine was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from California’s UCLA in 1989, and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Grand Canyon University in 2016. She also holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Northern Arizona University.

Christine’s impressive career as an educator has spanned 30 years. For 24 years, she taught at Chaparral High School in the Scottsdale Unified School District. Her teaching assignment there included courses in Advanced Placement. Next, she taught at Cactus Shadows High School in the Cave Creek Unified School District. After three years in Cave Creek, she returned to Scottsdale Unified. In 2016, this amazing educator was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Following her selection, she traveled to Washington, DC, to meet President Barack Obama.

In 2020, Christine won her bid to serve in the Arizona State Senate. She ran on the Democratic ticket against Kate Brophy McGee. She assumed office on January 11, 2021. Her current term ends on January 9, 2023. Her district, LD28, includes Paradise Valley, Sunnyslope, Arcadia, and other parts of North Central Phoenix. She serves on the Senate Education Committee and the Transportation and Technology Committee. She continues to teach while serving in the State Senate!

Chalkboard Champion Septima Poinsette Clark: Activist of the Civil Rights Movement

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Chalkboard Champion and activist Septima Poinsette Clark was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Photo credit: Charleston Raconteurs

Chalkboard Champion and activist Septima Poinsette Clark was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr., often called her “The Mother of the Movement.” In fact, this remarkable educator earned the Martin Luther King, Jr., Award in 1970, the Living Legacy Award in 1979, and the Drum Major for Justice Award in 1987.

Septima was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 3, 1898. Her father was born a slave, and her mother, although born in Charleston, was raised in Haiti and never experienced slavery. After Septima graduated from high school in 1916, she didn’t have the money to finance her college education. Nevertheless, she landed a position as an elementary teacher in a school for African American Gullah children on John’s Island in South Carolina’s Sea Islands. By 1919, Septima returned to Charleston to teach sixth grade at Avery Normal Institute, a private academy for Black children. Before long, Septima became involved with the Charleston’s chapter of the NAACP, which inaugurated her involvement in Civil Rights activities. In the 1940s, Septima was finally able to return to school, taking summer school courses to earn her college degree. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Benedict College and her Master’s from Hampton University.

In the 1950s Septima found herself working at the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. She was instrumental in fighting against Jim Crow laws by organizing citizenship schools to teach underprivileged African Americans basic literacy skills, voter registration techniques, and the history of the Movement. At Highlander, Septima served as the director of workshops, trained teachers, and recruited students.One of the participants in her workshops was Rosa Parks. Shortly after participating in the Highlander workshops, Rosa helped launch the now-famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Septima Clark passed away on John’s Island on December 15, 1987, of natural causes. This talented and dedicated teacher was 89 years old.

STEM educator Sharita Ware named Indiana’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Sharita Ware of Lafayette, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Purdue University

Congratulations to Sharita Ware, an engineering and technology education teacher from Lafayette, Indiana! She has been named her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

In her tenth year as a professional educator, Sharita teaches seventh and eighth graders at East Tipp Middle School at the Tippecanoe School Corporation in Lafayette. Her real-world, problem-based curriculum presents students with challenges that will help them contribute to their community. Included among the projects her students have worked on are designing prosthetic legs for Barbie dolls, building race cars, and programming robots.

Sharita also hosts after-school activities which provide students with opportunities to be innovative and creative through such programs as FIRST Lego League, the Monday Maker Hour, and March Maker Magic. “Our maker space gives kids freedom. You will have desired learning outcomes, but the way that they get to that learning outcome could be totally different from student to student and group to group,” says Sharita. “It is messy, and it’s hard for some teachers to have it be that messy. Sometimes, you think, ‘Is anything happening here?’ Kids will do projects completely different from each other, but they will learn the same thing,” she continued. “It’s pretty awesome to watch — if your nerves can handle it,” she concluded.

Sharita earned her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering Technology from the Purdue Polytechnic Institute in 1993. She earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Purdue University in 2013. In addition, she is certified in the Gateway to Technology program sponsored by Project Lead The Way. She worked in engineering and marketing in the private sector for a number of years before become an educator.

In addition to her honors as Indiana State Teacher of the Year, Sharita is a Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow in the STEM Goes Rural program at Purdue University. She was also involved in the College of Technology Leadership and Innovation Advisory Board from 2014 to 2019.

Read more about Sharita Ware in this article published by Purdue University.