Teacher and veteran Matthew Bundy earns 2020 VFW honors

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US Air Force veteran Matthew Bundy, a high school Government teacher from Mountain Home, Idaho, has earned national honors from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo Credit: Mountain Home News.

It’s a privilege to share stories about dedicated educators who have also served in our nation’s military. One of these is US Air Force veteran Matthew Bundy, a high school Government teacher from Mountain Home, Idaho. He’s just earned national honors from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Michael was raised in Ogden, Utah. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Weber State University. He completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Utah. He completed the requirements for his teacher certification at Boise State University. In addition, he earned a Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Idaho.

Matthew teaches American Government to seniors at Mountain Home High School in Mountain Home, Idaho. His career as an educator spanned 16 years. The honored educator is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served 20 years in the US Air Force. While in the military, he worked as a combat aviator.

Michael’s service in the military gave the Chalkboard Hero valuable insight when it comes to teaching his students about the attacks on 9/11, the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes, and the importance of their involvement in civic and community activities.

For his work in the classroom, Matthew has been named a 2020 Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award at the high school level. Matthew was sponsored by VFW Post 5423 in Mountain Home. The exemplary teacher was chosen because of his passion and innovation in developing patriotic lessons, and for going above and beyond to develop civic responsibility and activism in his students.

The award program is co-sponsored by former VFW National Commander John Smart and retired VFW Quartermaster General Larry Maher. The program was established in 1999 to recognize three exceptional teachers from around the country for their commitment to promoting patriotism and civic responsibility in their students. Each recipient receives a $1,000 award for professional development and $1,000 for their school and two commemorative plaques, one for their school and one to keep.

To read more about this amazing educator, see this article published about him in the Mountain Home News.

Ohio’s Audrey Keagy: Kindergarten teacher and WWII veteran

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Ohio kindergarten teacher and US Coast Guard veteran Audrey Keagy. Photo credit: WikiTree.

There are many American veterans who have chosen to serve in the classroom after they have served their country in the military. One of these is Audrey Keagy, a kindergarten teacher from Ohio who also served in the US Coast Guard.

Audrey was born on August 17, 1923, in Jefferson County, Ohio. When she was a child, her family moved frequently because her father worked for the New York Central Railroad.

After she graduated from high school in Ohio in 1941, Audrey took a job as an office worker at the Timken Roller Bearing Company in Canton. When World War II broke out, Audrey supported the war effort by working in Republic Steel, a factory that assembled airplanes. In October, 1944, she joined the SPARs branch, the Women’s Reserve of the US Coast Guard. The military sent her to Toledo, where she worked as a switchboard operator.

Once the war was ended and her service was over, Audrey returned to Canton. She used her GI Bill benefits to enroll at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where she earned the education necessary to become a kindergarten teacher. She was the first person in her family to attend college. “My mother was absolutely thrilled that I was attending college,” Audrey once remembered.

Audrey got her first teaching job as a kindergarten teacher in Canton. Eventually she transferred to the Williamsburg, Ohio, school system where she taught for 26 years. After her retirement, she continued to serve her community as a literacy tutor at her local library.

This amazing Chalkboard Hero passed away on May 18, 2012. To learn more about Audrey, click on this link to WikiTree.

NJ teacher and US veteran Michael Russell earns VFW Award

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New Jersey’s Michael Russell, an 8th grade science teacher, has earned a 2020 Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. Photo credit: Veterans of Foreign Wars

I always enjoy sharing stories about accomplished classroom teachers who have also served our country in the US military. One of these is Michael Russell, a science teacher from New Jersey who is also a veteran with the Army National guard.

Michael is employed as an eighth grade science teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. But he is also a former sergeant with the US Army National Guard. This Chalkboard Hero also serves his community as a volunteer firefighter. His career as an educator has spanned 21 years.

To encourage students to honor our nation’s veterans, Michael has founded a Veterans History Club on campus. The club which organizes a forum for discussions about veterans and also arranges for veterans to come to the campus as speakers. In addition, Michael organizes schoolwide fundraisers that generate donations and supplies for service members, veterans, and their families. He also escorts students on visits to local veterans’ memorials, and he supports the Veterans History Project sponsored by the Library of Congress.

For this tireless work, Michael has been recognized as a 2020 Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award for the middle school level. The dedicated educator was sponsored by VFW Post 370 in Highland Park, New Jersey. He was chosen for his work to educate students at his school about the importance and sacrifices of America’s veterans.

Each year, the VFW recognizes one national winner at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each honoree receives a $1,000 prize for professional development, and an additional $1,000 for their school. Each recipient also receives a pair of commemorative plaques, one for their school and one to keep.

To read more about Michael, see this article published by the New Jersey Education Association.

LouAnne Johnson: Educator, author, and veteran

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LouAnne Johnson: Educator, author, journalist, and former servicewoman in both the US Navy and the US Marines. Photo credit: The Authors Guild

Sometimes teachers feel like running our classroom is a lot like being in the military. We have to organize our time like clockwork, plan our lessons in meticulous detail, and often instill some regimental discipline on highly-energized recruits. One Chalkboard Champion who has done all this very successfully is LouAnne Johnson, an educator, author, journalist, and former servicewoman in both the US Navy and the US Marines.

LouAnne is best known for her book My Posse Don’t Do Homework, which was adapted as the film Dangerous Minds  starring Michelle Pfeiffer in 1995, and a television series starring Annie Potts in 1996.

LouAnne was raised in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. After her graduation from high school, she enrolled at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but dropped out after a few weeks to enlist in the US Navy, who sent her to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. She served nine years on active duty, achieving the rank of Petty Officer First Class. She wrote about her experiences during these years in her 1986 book Making Waves: A Woman in This Man’s Navy. She later transferred to the US Marine Corps, where she rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant. Throughout her military service, LouAnne earned the Navy Commendation Medal and the Air Force Achievement Award for her work as a journalist and ​radio-television broadcaster.

When her stint in the Marine Corps was completed, LouAnne earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, California, her Master’s degree in teaching English from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Sage Colleges in Albany, New York.

In 1989 LouAnne garnered her first position as an educator at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where she began teaching reading and writing to non-English speakers as an intern. Two years later, she was appointed Department Chair of a special program for at-risk teens. During the government evaluation of ten similar pilot programs, LouAnne’s group was rated first in academic achievement, increased self-esteem, and student retention. Since then, LouAnne has taught English, adult basic education, developmental reading, and writing at high schools and colleges.

To learn more about LouAnne Johnson, see her website at louannejohnson.com.

Business Ed teacher, veteran, and musician Jim Flynn of Maine

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Business Education teacher, veteran, and award-winning country music songwriter Jim Flynn of Lewistown, Maine. Photo credit: Creative Commons.

There are many examples of dedicated educators who have earned fame in arenas outside of the classroom. One of these was Jim Flynn, a business education teacher from Maine who was also well-known as a country music songwriter.

Jim was born on March 24, 1938, in Lewistown, Maine. He was raised is Monmouth, Maine. As a young man, he served his country in the US Army as a radio operator. He was deployed to Germany as part of the Cold War effort known as Operation Gyroscope. In 1957, he joined a musical group named the Tune Toppers which was featured in the 10th Infantry Division Band and Chorus that performed in Wurzburg.

After Jim earned his Honorable discharge in 1959, he enrolled in business courses at first the Auburn Maine School of Commerce and then the Husson College in Bangor, Maine. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Education in 1964. Ten years later he earned his Master’s degree in Secondary School Administration from the University of Southern Maine at Portland-Gorham.

Jim inaugurated his career as an educator in 1964. He taught Business Education and also coached sports. Once he retired from the classroom, he sold educational textbooks to public schools located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

After he left the classroom, Jim became a local celebrity among country music aficionados in New England. The former educator earned several awards for the songs he wrote. In 2005, he garnered first place in the Best Folk Songwriter category for the song “The Ballad of L.L. Bean” at the Down East Country Music Awards (DECMA). That same year, he earned second and third place in the Traditional Country Songwriter category for his compositions entitled “As Calm as a Blue Lagoon” and “The Day they Paved the Road.” In addition, DECMA honored Jim with a Founders Award for his contributions to the Maine country music community.

Jim Flynn passed away on May 8, 2019, in his home town of Lewistown. He was 81 years old. To read more about this talented teacher, see his entry at Moviefit.