Tracey Pendley named Georgia’s 2020 State Teacher of the Year

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Elementary teacher Tracey Pendley of Atlanta has been named Georgia’s 2020 State Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations are in order for Tracey Pendley, an elementary school teacher from Atlanta, Georgia. She has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Tracey is a native of Atlanta. The young educator determined to become a teacher, she says, because during her rough childhood, her teachers were her salvation. Tracey’s mother was a single parent and an addict who spent time in and out of jail. She died when Tracey was a young teenager.

After her high school graduation, Tracey earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Religion from Furman University in 2006. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Teaching in the Urban Teacher Education Program from the University of Chicago in 2009. Tracey was working with youngsters even before she earned her degrees. When an after school program for at-risk children was on the chopping block, Tracey volunteered to take over and direct the program in its three low-income neighborhoods.

Once she earned her degrees, Tracey inaugurated her career as a third grade teacher at a Chicago Public Turnaround School, where she taught for several years. In 2012, she returned to her home town of Atlanta.

In Atlanta, Tracey first taught 4th grade at Toomer Elementary. The next year she accepted a position at Burgess-Peterson Academy in the Atlanta Public School District. She has taught there for the past four years. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she serves as a teacher leader and trainer. She also collaborates with community partners such as Page Turners Make Great Learners. And she established a 4-H Club at Burgess-Peterson. “One of my goals every day is to bring magic into the classroom,” Tracey declares.

For her work in the classroom, Tracey garnered the Atlanta Families Award for Excellence in Education in March, 2018. She also earned the Atlanta Public Schools’ district-wide Teacher of the Year honor in November, 2018. What’s more, the city of Atlanta issued a proclamation on June 3, 2019, to recognize her for her commitment to families in her community.

To read more about Tracey, click on this link to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Maryland’s Verda Welcome: Educator, politician, and community activist

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Maryland’s Verda Welcome: Educator, politician, civil rights activist, and community activist.

Many teachers dedicate themselves to social and political causes outside of the classroom. They know that improving opportunities for American citizens as a whole specifically helps their students in the classroom. One teacher who worked in this way was Verda Welcome, a teacher, politician, civil rights activist, and community activist from the state of Maryland.

Verda was born on March 18, 1807, in Lake Lure, North Carolina.  She was one of 16 children of farmers John and Docia Freeman. As a young girl, Verda attended North Carolina and Delaware public schools. The young scholar always planned to pursue higher education. However, following the death of her mother in 1928, she found herself with limited financial resources to pursue her goal. Undaunted, she worked as a domestic during the day and attended school in the evening. Eventually she earned her high school diploma. “I had to make the daily sacrifices needed to keep my dreams intact,” Verda once declared.

In 1929, Verda moved to Baltimore to continue her education at Coppin Normal School. There she earned her teaching certificate in 1932. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in History from Morgan State College in 1939. She completed the requirements for her Master of Arts Degree from New York University in 1943. In her later years, Verda was awarded honorary doctorates from Howard University, Morgan University, and the University of Maryland.

During her youth, Verda learned first-hand that African Americans were often underpaid, under-educated, and underprivileged. She determined to make a positive impact on the Black community as an educator, and so she taught in the Baltimore City Public Schools for 11 years.

In 1959, the dedicated teacher was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent the Fourth District. She was the first Black woman to achieve that distinction. Verda served as a delegate until 1962, when she was elected to the Maryland State Senate. She was America’s first African American female state senator.

Verda served in the Maryland State Senate until 1982. Between the State House and the State Senate, Verda devoted a total of twenty-five years of service in the legislature. Significant among her accomplishments there was the passage of legislation dealing with such issues as discrimination in public accommodations, equal pay for equal work, the harassment of welfare recipients, illegal employment practices, voter registration, the abolition of capital punishment, and reforms in the state’s correctional facilities.

For her many important achievements in the area of civil rights, this Chalkboard Champion was inducted into Maryland’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 1988. Verda was 83 years old when she passed away on April 22, 1990, in Baltimore.

To read more about this amazing chalkboard champion, see this article published in the Baltimore Sun.

Educator, writer, and US veteran James Francis Price

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Educator, writer, and veteran James Francis Price earned success as a screen writer.

Many educators have logged some successes in areas outside of the classroom. One of these is James Francis Price, an English teacher from Los Angeles who has also earned some success as a screen writer.

James was born on January 2, 1935, in Hollywood, California. As a youngster he attended St. Paul the Apostle School in Westwood. He spent his high school yeas at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and transferred to Los Angeles High School, where he graduated in 1953. After high school, James enlisted in the US Army. He served his country in Korea near the DMZ after the Korean War Armistice was settled.

Once James returned to the United States, he enrolled at UCLA , where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History in 1960. He also completed graduate courses there. During this years, James authored many original screenplays, novels, and short stories. In fact, he earned an Honorable Mention in the Samuel Goldwyn Creative Writing Competition for his short stories “A Crow for One Day” and “Rolie Weed.” In that competition, Francis Ford Copola took the top honors.

After earning his degrees, James accepted a position as a  teacher in the Los Angeles. He earned a reputation as an excellent instructor of composition, reading, English literature, and government. His career there spanned 28 years.reading composition English literature

In 1972, he sold his screenplay The Stolen Moment. He joined the Screen Writers Guild, and continued to write scripts. He also produced at least one novel.

Sadly, this talented and creative teacher passed away on April 11, 2020, in Santa Monica, California. He was 85 years old. He is interred at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

To learn more about James, read his obituary published in the Los Angeles Times.

NYC Special Ed teacher Alyssa Pantilieris succumbs to coronavirus

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Special Education teacher Alyssa Pantilieris from PS/MS 15 in the Bronx, New York, succumbed to the coronavirus on April 5, 2020.

Sadly, the coronavirus has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Alyssa Pantilieris, a special education teacher in New York City, succumbed to the disease on April 5, 2020. She was only 45 years old.

Alyssa was born on November 11, 1974, in Catskill, New York. She was raised in Greenville, Green County, New York. While in high school, Alyssa was selected to be an exchange student to Denmark. In fact, she could speak Danish, Spanish, and Gtreek fluently. Alyssa graduated from Greenville Central School in 1992. After her graduation, she enrolled at the State University of New York, New Paltz. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree. She then completed courses at Hunter College, and then earned her Master’s degree at Phoenix University.

Alyssa launched her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a special education teacher at PS/MS 15. The school is also known as the Institute of Environment Learning. Her career there spanned nearly 20 years. Over the course of her career, she established a reputation as a staunch advocate for her students, both in and out of the classroom. She often bought lunch for her kids, organized field trips for them, tutored them after school, and bought them books to read. She even started a book club for her fifth graders.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Alyssa was an avid animal lover. She supported the Trampled Rose Ranch Animal Rescue and the Broome Animal Sanctuary.

To read more about this beloved educator, read her obituary published by the United Federation of Teachers, or  UFT.