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.

Educator Jaime Escalante taught his students to Stand and Deliver

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Celebrated educator Jaime Escalante: He taught his students to Stand and Deliver.

One of the most well-known teachers in twentieth-century American history, Jaime Escalante, passed away in 2010, but already his story is fading from our collective cultural memory. He was the teacher portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver.

The recipient of numerous awards and special praise from President Ronald Reagan, Jaime Escalante was a popular and talented teacher who challenged supposedly “unteachable” inner-city Latino students to achieve beyond a level anyone thought them capable of. He eventually led them to unparalleled success on the extremely difficult Advanced Placement Calculus exam.

In researching Jaime’s life story for my own book, Chalkboard Champions, I learned some surprising facts about this remarkable educator. For example, the movie never mentions that prior to immigrating to the United States, he earned a degree in mathematics and a teaching credential in Bolivia. Jaime was a veteran teacher with nine years of experience in prestigious schools when he decided to leave his politically unstable homeland and come to America in search of a better life for his family. Once he arrived, unable to speak a word of English, Jaime discovered that his education, training, and experience held no value here.

Determined to return to the classroom, Escalante set about learning the English language and earning his university degree all over again. It took him ten years to get back into the classroom, at a significant cut in pay, by the way. But to this dedicated teacher, it was well-worth the hard work. A well-researched and well-written account of this celebrated educator’s life can be found in the biographical book Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America by Jay Matthews. For a condensed version of Jaime Escalante’s life, check out chapter 12 my volume, Chalkboard Champions. Either way, you’ll find his story compelling and inspiring.

Dr. Ruth Flowers: Chalkboard Champion of Colorado

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Award-winning educator Dr. Ruth Flowers of Boulder, Colorado. (Fair Use Photo)

American history is rich with the stories of amazing Black Chalkboard Champions. One of these was Ruth Flowers, an award-winning educator from Boulder, Colorado.

Ruth was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on March 10, 1903. Her father was a bricklayer, and her mother was a dressmaker. Ruth’s father abandoned the family before Ruth was born, and her mother passed away when Ruth was only 11. The young child was raised by her grandmother. In 1917, Ruth moved with her grandmother to Boulder, Colorado. There she attended Boulder High School. During her high school years, Ruth worked at jobs in a laundry and in a restaurant to help support her family.

After she completed her high school courses in 1920, Ruth enrolled at the University of Colorado, where she majored in foreign language. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1924. For the next four years, Ruth taught language at Claflin College in South Carolina. During these years, she returned to Boulder every summer to continue her education and to take care of her aging grandmother. In 1930 she completed the coursework for her Master’s degree in French and Education.

Once she earned her Master’s degree, Ruth relocated to Washington, DC, where she accepted a position at Dunbar High School. She taught there from 1931 to 1945. Ruth was always looking for additional opportunities to gain more education. She enrolled in night courses at Robert F. Terrell Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1945. In 1937, she married her law school classmate, Harold Flowers. In 1945, Ruth left the classroom and practiced law with her husband.

Ruth returned to school in 1951 to work on a PhD in Foreign Languages and Literature. For this degree she enrolled at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. This done, Ruth taught as an Associate Professor of Spanish at North Carolina College in Durham, North Carolina. The school is now known as North Carolina Central University. In 1958, she spent a year in Spain.

In 1959, Ruth returned to Boulder, where she accepted a position as the Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Fairview High School. She taught courses in Spanish and Latin there. She was the first African American teacher to work in the Boulder Valley School District. She taught there until her retirement in 1967.

During the 1970-1971 school year, Ruth came out of retirement to teach a course in African American literature as part of the Black Studies program at the University of Colorado.

For her superior work in the classroom, Ruth garnered a Teacher of the Year award from Harvard University in 1969. She was also named Bicentennial Mother of Achievement by the state of Colorado in 1975.

Ruth Flowers passed away on November 20, 1980, in Boulder. She was 77 years old. To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this link to BlackPast.

Ezekiel Cheever: “Chief representative of colonial schoolmaster”

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Ezekiel Cheever, who has been called “the chief representative of the colonial schoolmaster.”

There are many notable educators that go way back in American history. One of these was Ezekiel Cheever, an educator and author who dates back all the way to the 1600’s.

Ezekiel was born in January 25, 1615, in London, England. Ezekiel earned his education at Christ’s Hospital & Emmanuel College in  Cambridge, England, where he graduated in 1635. He then migrated to Boston, Massachusetts. That was in June of 1637. Later, he moved to  Quinnipiac, the Indian settlement that became the New Haven Colony later known as Connecticut). There he taught school, and after some time there he returned to Massachusetts.

Back in Boston, he accepted a job offer to become the Headmaster of the Boston Latin School. During a career that spanned 70 years, Ezekiel spent a whopping 38 of them at the Boston Latin School. His poorly-lit classroom featured a smoky fireplace and a bundle of birch rods beside his desk. One of his students was the famous historical figure Cotton Mather.

During the course of his career as an educator, Ezekiel wrote what is believed to be the earliest American school book. The book was a foreign language grammar book entitled Accidence: A Short Introduction to the Latin Tongue. This book was published in many editions for nearly 200 years after its original publication, longer than any Latin textbook published in this country.

For his outstanding work in the classroom, Ezekiel has been called “the chief representative of the colonial schoolmaster.” When this exemplary teacher passed away on August 21, 1708, it was said that “New England (had) never known a better teacher.” Cotton Mather delivered a sermon at his funeral.

To learn more about this American historical figure, read this journal article by Franklin Parker entitled Ezekiel Cheever: New England Colonial Teacher.