AZ educator Jill Jones earns Amazon Future Engineers Teacher of the Year Honor

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Computer Science educator Jill Jones from Phoenix, Arizona, has been named one of ten Amazon Future Engineer Teachers of the Year.

Congratulations are in order for computer science educator Jill Jones of Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been recognized by Amazon as one of their Future Engineer Teachers of the Year. Jill was one of just ten educators from around the country who has earned the honor.

The honored educator will receive a total of $50,000 in technology equipment for her classroom and her school. This is the first year Amazon has distributed the awards. Jill was recognized by the technology giant for her dedication towards helping students in under-served and under-represented communities build real-world skills in computer science.

Carl Hayden High School is a public inner city school that faces many typical inner city school challenges. The student population is 97% Hispanic, and 98% of the students qualify for the federally assisted school lunch program. Many of the students are first generation immigrants, and most are the first in their family to graduate from high school. In selecting the ten recipients for the award, Amazon took into consideration the teacher’s commitment towards promoting diversity and inclusion within computer science education.

“Computer science skills will be of vital importance as we take on and solve the challenges of the future,” declared Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer.  “We are thrilled to honor these teachers,”  he continued.

“I am beyond humbled and honored to receive this award,” expressed Jill. “I hope to use it (the prize) to promote the message that computer science is for everyone,” she continued. “This award brings honor and recognition to our school and to all the hard-working and dedicated students we serve.”

Jill is a graduate of Arizona State University. Her career as an educator has spanned 30 years. To read more about this amazing educator, click on this link to Patch.com.

Charles D. Hayne: Teacher and South Carolina State Senator

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South Carolina teacher and politician Charles D. Hayne. Portrait painted by Janice Livingston of the Heritage Council of North Augusta.

Many classroom teachers have earned recognition in professions outside of the field of education. One of these was Charles D. Hayne, an educator who worked for the Freedman’s Bureau who also earned fame as a South Carolina State Senator.

Charles was born “a free person of color” in 1844 in Charleston, South Carolina. His father was white, and his mother was a free Black. Charles was the nephew of South Carolina politician Robert Y. Hayne. As a young man, Charles worked as a tailor in his native city of Charleston.

During the Civil War, Charles served in the Confederate Army and assisted in the defense of the city of Charleston. After the war was won by the North, the former tailor became the postmaster for the town of Aiken in Aiken County. He held that position from 1868 until 1880. Later, Charles gained employment as a teacher at the Freedmen’s Bureau. He was assigned to teach at a school in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

In 1868, Charles was elected as a delegate to the South Carolina Constitutional Convention. The same year, he was elected to his state’s House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. He was re-elected to the House in 1870. While in office, Charles also served on the Board of Directors for several corporations, including the railroad. Two years later, the former teacher was elected to the South Carolina State Senate, where he served for four years.

Charles D. Hayne passed away in 1913. He was 69 years old. To learn more about this educator and politician, see this link at Palmetto Bella Magazine.

Heather Gadd-Ardrey: Mississippi’s 2019 Teacher of the Year

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Hannah Gadd-Ardrey: Mississippi’s 2019 Teacher of the Year. Hannah teaches music education in Oxford, Mississippi.

I love to share stories about amazing educators that have been recognized for their professional talents and hard work. One of these is Hannah Gadd-Ardrey, a middle high and high school music teacher who has been named the 2019 Teacher of the Year for the state of Mississippi.

Hannah teaches music history and choir in grades six through twelve at Lafayette Middle School and Lafayette High School. Her school is part of a rural public school district located in Oxford, Mississippi. Her students come from diverse backgrounds and varied learning abilities.

As an educator, Hannah says she is passionate about using music to create interdisciplinary connections and to develop real-world skills. Throughout her career, Hannah has overseen the growth of the choral program from 60 to 130 students. She believes that all students should have access to a quality fine arts education. She asserts that classes like choir, band, visual art, and theater empower students, providing them with outlets to lead and cultivate a climate for growth and acceptance among their peers and the community.

The honored educator is particularly interested in using music to enrich the lives of special education students. In 2018, she collaborated with elementary teachers of students with special needs in her district to create the More than Music program. The program is a student-led music class for elementary students with special needs. “My students are building a legacy,” she declares. “They are learning life skills in choir that can help students become successful citizens. Music allows students to cultivate a climate for change and make the world a better place,” she continued.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Hannah serves as a mentor for teachers in her school district. She also serves on the Mississippi Teacher Council. Before being named the 2019 Mississippi Teacher of the Year, the Chalkboard Champion presented research at the Summer Conference of the Mississippi American Choral Directors Association.

Heather earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music in 2013 and her Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting in 2015, both from the University of Mississippi. She has been a teacher since 2013. To read more about this amazing educator, see this story printed in Ole Miss, University of Mississippi News.

Former teacher Michelle Rhee works to better schools

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Former elementary school teacher Michelle Rhee has devoted her entire professional life to bettering US schools.   (Photo credit: Creative Commons)

Former elementary school teacher Michelle Rhee has devoted her entire professional life to bettering US schools. From her own experiences in the classroom, both as a student and as a teacher, and then through establishing and running nonprofits devoted to school improvement, to serving as the Chancellor of Washington, DC, schools, Michelle has dedicated herself to making changes in schools that would create positive results for kids.

Michelle was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of immigrants from South Korea. Her father was a doctor and her mother owned a clothing store. When Michelle was a young girl, the Rhee family lived in Toledo, Ohio. Following her graduation from Maumee Valley Country Day School in 1988, Michelle enrolled at Cornell University, where in 1992 she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Government. Later, she earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1997.

In her senior year in college, Michelle signed up for the Teach for America program. After completing a five-week summer program, she accepted a position as a teacher at Harlem Park Elementary, an inner-city school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Her first year as a teacher was rough, Michelle has admitted. Determined to improve her professional skills, Michelle completed summer school courses and earned her teaching credential before returning to the classroom for her second year of teaching.

In 1997, Michelle left the classroom and founded The New Teacher Project (TNTP). TNTP was a nonprofit organization designed to improve the methods schools use to recruit, select, and train teachers in schools described as difficult to staff. In 2007, Michelle made another career move. She accepted a position as the Chancellor of Schools in Washington, DC. At the time, the district more than 47,000 students were enrolled in 123 schools throughout the district. During her years there, DC experienced double-digit growth in both their state reading and state math scores in seventh, eighth and tenth grades. She served as the Chancellor until 2010, when she stepped down to establish Students First, an organization devoted to education reform.

For her work as an educator and administrator, Michelle has earned national recognition. She has served on the advisory boards for both the National Council on Teacher Quality and the National Center for Alternative Certification. In addition, she was invited by former First Lady Laura Bush to be a special guest at the State of the Union address of President George W. Bush State in 2008.

To learn more about Michelle Rhee, click on this link to her biography on the website for Students First.

Jim Hammond: Educator and Idaho State Senator

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Jim Hammond: Educator and former Idaho State Senator.

There are many excellent classroom teachers who have made their mark in the world of politics. One of these is Jim Hammond, a teacher from Post Falls, Idaho, who has served in the Idaho State Senate.

Jim was born on June 18, 1950, in Missoula, Montana. He was raised there, graduating from the city’s Loyola High School. After his high school graduation, Jim earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Carroll College, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Helena, Montana, in 1973. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Administration in 1977 from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington.

Once he completed his education, Jim inaugurated his career as a teacher in the Post Falls School District in Post Falls, Idaho. He taught there from 1973 to 1975. For the next four years he was employed in Coeur d’Alene Schools in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He then returned to post Falls School District as a principal. He stayed there until 1981. From 1981 to 1996, Jim returned to Spokane, Washington, where he served as a principal in the East Valley School District.

Jim entered the political area when he was elected to a seat as a council member for the City of Post Falls in 1982. He served in this position from 1982 to 1991. Next, the talented educator was elected to the position of Mayor of the City of Post Falls, where he served 1991 to 1996. He was the City Administrator in Post Falls from 1996 to 2006. From 1996 to 2012, the former educator represented District 5 in the Idaho State Senate. In that body, he served on the Committees for Finance; Health and Welfare; and Legislative Oversight. During these years, Jim was also a founding member of the Post Falls Education Foundation and served on the Idaho State Board of Education. In 2002, this Chalkboard Champion was named Post Falls Citizen of the Year.

Throughout his lengthy career as a politician, Jim has always been a strong supporter of public education. “We’re in the business of providing an education to our children, first of all, so they can be active citizens in our government, and secondly so that they know how to live in this modern day world,” he once expressed. “Teaching is worthy of greater respect from our society than what we currently give it,” he declared.

To read more about Jim Hammond, see this posting at Ballotpedia.