Arizona teacher Chris Ackerly served in state House of Reps
Arizona teacher J. Christopher “Chris” Ackerly is a science and math educator from Tucson, Arizona, who also served in his state’s House of Representatives. Photo credit: Amphitheater High School.
There are many hardworking educators throughout our country who have also achieved success as politicians. One of these is John Christopher “Chris” Ackerly, a science and math educator who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives.
Chris was born and raised in Arizona, primarily in the Tucson area. He graduated from Green Fields High School in 1990. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Science from Northern Arizona University in 1999.
After 18 years as an educator, Chris made a bid for elected office. He was elected on the Republican ticket to represent District 2. He served there from 2015 to 2017. While in the Arizona House of Representatives, Chris served as the Chair of the Government and Higher Education Committee; he was a former member of the Committee on Children and Family Affairs; and he was a former member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. As a legislator, Chris worked diligently for increased school funding, greater support for more resources for the classroom, an increase in structured sober living homes, and greater support for owners of mobile homes.
Once he left office, Chris returned to his position as a teacher of Physics and Mathematics at Amphitheater High School in Tucson. He has also taught Statistics and Geometry, and K-8 Science and Technology. In addition, Chris serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Education Association.
To read more about Chris, see his website at Amphitheater High School.
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Kimberly Stock named Delaware’s 2021 Teacher of the Year
Kimberly Stock of Wilmington, Delaware, has overcome a rocky childhood as a child abandoned in Korea to become her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Delaware.gov.
I enjoy sharing stories about excellent educators who have earned acclaim for their work in the classroom. One of these is Kimberly Stock, a Language Arts teacher in Wilmington, Delaware, who has been named her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.
Kimberly teaches Advanced Placement Literature, eleventh grade Language Arts. and oversees English-language acquisition courses at McKean High School in the Red Clay Consolidated School District. In addition to her work in the classroom, Kimberly serves as a District Diversity Champion, where she advocates for students of color in her district. In this role, she has spoken on panels and social justice committees, has led professional learning programs on diversity, and has empowered student leadership through her school’s Student Voices and Cultural Celebrations advisories. In addition, Kimberly has presented at the PENN Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages conference held at Temple University.
This amazing teacher also works as an administrator of the Claymont Community Center, an educational nonprofit. The organization secures partnerships with school districts, other nonprofits, and local agencies to create basic education and GED programs for adult learners. During her tenure there, the center’s adult ESL program served a multitude of immigrant students.
The honored educator has overcome many obstacles to reach this point in her life. As a child in Korea, Kimberly was abandoned. She once confessed that she does not know her actual age, birth place, or given name. “After living with a foster family in Korea, I was adopted by a white family in Nebraska,” Kimberly revealed. “Despite experiencing moments of trauma, racism, illness, loss and death caused by ethnic violence, I have been given new opportunities and second chances,” she said.
Kimberly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1996. She earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. There she conducted research on the recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators of color. Additionally, Kimberly earned a Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Delaware in 2020. Her work has resulted in a proposed curriculum for a course entitled Methods of Teaching English Learners for all new Delaware educators.
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Indiana’s Becky Muncy teaches character education through music
Elementary school music educator Becky Muncy of Bedford, Indiana, teaches her students character education through music. Photo credit: Becky Muncy
Many talented educators teach important concepts and life skills to their students through music. One of these is Becky Muncy, an elementary school music teacher from the North Lawrence Community School District in Bedford, Indiana. She has earned a stellar reputation through teaching character education through music.
Becky teaches character education through her CD entitled Blueprints for Life, produced by Matt Wilder in Nashville, Tennessee. The creative effort garnered Becky a Children’s Music Web Award in 2005. In addition to her creative efforts, Becky has served as a coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) for the past seven years.
In her classroom, Becky uses puppet characters, songs, and other materials that work with children preschool through 5th grade. “The music and materials are kid tested and kid approved!” declares Becky. The honored educator says it has taken her over 40 years to develop the instructional materials for her curriculum.
The honored educator encourages her fellow educators to develop creative outlets for their students as well. “Look at what opportunities do exist in your school and community. Build on those things. You will be amazed at what doors open if you just look around,” Becky says. “Is it hard work – yes! Is it worth it – yes!” she declares. “You will find if you are doing what you love-teaching children, putting 100% into it, that will make it all worthwhile,” she concludes.
To learn more about this talented educator, see her website at www.beckymuncie.com.
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Teacher Clara Comstock: She helped with Orphan Trains
Teacher Clara Comstock, second from right, with a colleague and a group of homeless children she escorted on an Orphan Train. Circa 1910. Photo credit: Children’s Aid Society
In American history there are many examples of dedicated educators going above and beyond in order to help young students, both inside the classroom and in their personal lives. One of these was Clara Comstock, a hardworking teacher from New York.
Clara was born on July 5, 1879, in Hartsville, New York, the daughter of hardy pioneer stock. Her father was a farmer and blacksmith. As a young girl, Clara was educated at the Canisteo Academy in the neighboring town of Canisteo, New York. She graduated in 1895 at the age of 16 and spent the next several years working on her teacher’s training courses.
Clara inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1903 at the Brace Memorial Farm School in Valhalla, New York. Her students were New York City “street Arabs,” homeless boys that were orphaned, abandoned, or removed from their homes because their parents were deemed unfit or unable to adequately care form them. At the Farm School, these kids were taught fundamental literacy skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, some vocational training, including carpentry, shoe-making, and box-making.
After a few years, in order to be of greater service to homeless kids, Clara accepted a position with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists today to benefit needy children. The CAS organized the famous Orphan Trains, small groups of children that were transported west and placed in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. Clara escorted many of these groups, conducted background checks on prospective foster parents, and made periodic checks on the children she placed. She did this work until her retirement in 1928, then she spent another two decades working for the CAS in-state foster care program.
During her lifetime, Clara placed more than 12,000 homeless children in homes, painstakingly keeping track of each one of them until they reached adulthood. She kept a personal diary and filled several trunks with meticulous records of the children she worked with. Decades later, these records became invaluable resources for Orphan Train riders who were seeking information about their origins.
You can read more about this amazing and dedicated teacher and the orphan train system in my book Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon.
