Pennsylvania’s Laura Towne: She taught emancipated slaves

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Laura Towne

Chalkboard Champion Laura Towne  from Pennsylvania opened a school for emancipated slaves as the War Between the States raged around her. Photo credit: Beufort County Library.

American history is full of Chalkboard Champions who risked life and limb for their students. One of these educators is Laura Towne, who taught newly-emancipated African Americans, even though the Civil War raged around her.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1825, Laura was raised in Philadelphia, where she moved in socially progressive circles. She was formally educated as both a homeopathic physician and as a school teacher. She was also a dedicated abolitionist.

During the Civil War, Laura was one of the first Northern women to go south to work with newly-freed slaves. She traveled to St. Helena Island in Port Royal, South Carolina, where she founded the first school for freed slaves, even though the War Between the States continued to rage all around her.

Laura Towne was practical, independent, down-to-earth, and strong-willed. She readily entered into the life of St. Helena Island, where she began her work attending to the medical needs of the freed slaves. In June, 1862, Laura gave up her medical practice, and together with Ellen Murray, her life-long friend and fellow teacher, opened the first school for freed slaves. Laura named her institution the Penn School. Nine adult students enrolled in the school, which operated out of the back room of an abandoned plantation house. Unlike most schools established for emancipated slaves, Laura’s school offered a rigorous curriculum, which was modeled on the schools of New England.

Laura spent forty years running her school and grew to love the life she had established in Port Royal. She and Ellen eventually adopted several African American children and raised them as their own. Upon her death in 1901, Laura bequeathed the Penn School to the historically Black College Hampton Institute, at which time the school began operating as the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School.
Laura Towne: A true Chalkboard Champion. To learn more about her, click on this link to read her biography published by the Social Welfare History Project sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University.

During Black History Month, we honor Alaska’s Selwyn Carrol

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During Black History Month, we recognize Chalkboard Champion and veteran Selwyn Carrol, a middle school teacher and politician from Alaska. (Photo credit: Ian C. Hartmen)

I love to honor our nation’s African American educators all year round, but especially during Black History Month. Today I’d like to recognize Selwyn Carrol, a teacher and politician from Alaska.

Selwyn was born on Oct. 31, 1928, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, although he was raised in the state’s Jacksonville area. As a youngster, he attended Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville. As a young man, he served his country in the US Army. He was sent to Korea where he saw combat. Through the military he ended up in Alaska. There he attended the University of Alaska where he earned his Bachelor’s degree.

Before becoming an educator, Selwyn gained experience in a number of jobs. He worked as a social worker for the Alaska Department of Public Welfare. He was hired by the Alaska Department of Corrections as a supervisor of the youth detention center in the Alaska state jail. He also worked for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District as an attendance officer. It was in Fairbanks that he accepted his first teaching position as a middle school teacher.

In 1972, Selwyn was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. He represented District 17, which served Fairbanks. He maintained this position from 1972 to 1974. While there, he served as the Chair of the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee, and he also served on the Labor and Management Committee.

Upon his retirement, Selwyn relocated to Hampton County, South Carolina. There he served as the county auditor. This Chalkboard Champion passed away on Dec. 21, 2010. He was 82 years old. He was interred at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina.

To learn more about Selwyn Carrol, read his obituary published by The Augusta Chronicle.

Cherie Dandurand, Iowa social studies teacher, succumbs to Covid

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Cherie Dandurand, a beloved social studies teacher in Moville, Iowa, has succumbed to Covid-19. (Photo credit: Sioux City Journal)

Sadly, we report that Cherie Dandurand, a beloved social studies teacher in Moville, Iowa, has succumbed to Covid-19. She passed away on Jan. 6, 2021, at the age of 53.

Cherie was born Oct. 1, 1967. As a youngster, she attended Prairie High School School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she graduated in 1986. There she was a member of the National Honor Society, and she excelled as an athlete. In fact, as a senior, she was recognized as the All-Around Female Athlete of the Year.

After her high school graduation, Cherie enrolled at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where earned her Bachelor’s degree from Loras College in 1990. There she excelled in both volleyball and basketball. In 2010, Cherie earned her Master’s degree from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska.

In 1991, Cherie inaugurated her teaching career as a middle school history teacher at Woodbury Central in Moville, Iowa. Her career there spanned 30 years. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she was also a Head Coach and Assistant Coach for volleyball and basketball, and she served as the president of the Woodbury Central Education Association. “She was part of our safety committee. She was part of our leadership team. She was also a member of her school’s Character Counts Committee and part of our School Improvement Team.

According to Woodbury Central School District Superintendent Douglas Glackin, the fallen educator, “Loved working with kids, was able to reach out, especially struggling kids and get them more involved in school.”

Cherie was involved in many community activities as well. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, and she was active in Boy Scouts as the Chairwoman of the Troop Committee. In her free time, this amazing educator was an avid reader.

To read more about Cherie, see her obituary published in The Gazette.

Florida science teacher Bertha Vazquez has won accolades

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Middle school science teacher Bertha Vazquez of Miami Dade Public Schools in Florida has won many accolades for her work in the classroom. (Photo credit: freeflo.org)

I always enjoy sharing stories about one of the many fine science educators in our country. One of these is Bertha Vazquez, an award-winning science teacher from Miami Dade County Public Schools in Florida. She has won many accolades for her work in the classroom.

Bertha teaches earth science, physical science, and life science at George Washington Carver Middle School in Miami Dade, Florida. Her career there has spanned 30 years. In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom, she serves as the director of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), a program connected with the Center for Inquiry and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Bertha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, suma cum laude, from the University of Miami in 1989. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Science Education from Florida International University in 1999. She was also named to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 1999.

For her work as an educator, Bertha has earned many accolades. In 2008, she was named the South Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair Middle School Teacher of the Year. She garnered the Miami Dade Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Award in both 2008 and 1997, and in 1998 she was a finalist for Miami Dade Teacher of the Year. Bertha was also named a Premio Verde Escolar in 2012. She earned a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM grant in 2014, a Charles C. Bartlett Award for the National Environmental Education Foundation in 2009, and a Verizon Foundation Grant for Educators in 2011.

To learn more about Bertha’s work, see this link to the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. You could also check out this link to the Center for Inquiry.