Chalkboard champion Bessie Burke: First Black principal hired in Los Angeles

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Chalkboard champion Bessie Burke, the first African American principal hired in the Los Angeles Public School System.

In American history, there are many examples of fine educators who were also pioneers. One of these was Bessie Burke, who was the first African American principal hired in the Los Angeles Public School System.

Bessie was born on March 19, 1891, in Los Angeles. Just a few years earlier, in 1887, her parents had left their farms and teaching jobs in Kansas to migrate west. They settled in what is now known as North Hollywood.

As a young girl, Bessie attended Berendo Elementary School in LA. From Berendo Bessie went to Polytechnic High School in Pasadena.

After her high school graduation, Bessie enrolled in courses at Los Angeles State Normal School. The institution is now associated with the University of California at Los Angeles. The young scholar graduated seventh in a class of 800. Bessie earned her teaching credential in 1911. Her first teaching assignment was at Holmes Avenue School. In 1918, she was promoted and served as the first black principal in the Los Angeles school system. In all, she devoted 20 years to the Holmes Avenue School.

From Holmes, Bessie transferred to Nevin Avenue School, in 1938. The school featured a racially mixed student body. When she accepted this position, Bessie became one of the first Black principals in the state to head a racially integrated student body. Bessie retired in 1955. She is still remembered in the area as a distinguished humanitarian and well-respected educator and administrator.

In addition to her responsibilities at the school, Bessie served in several civic organizations, including the NAACP, the YWCA, the Native California Club, and the Women’s Political Study Club. She was also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

This amazing educator passed away in 1968 at the age of 68. She is interred at Angeles Rosedale Cemetery. To learn more about Bessie, click on this link from the US National Park Service: Bessie Burke.

Suggested reading: Beyond the Blackboard, the story of teacher Stacey Bess

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If you’re looking for some suggestions for summer reading, I’d like to recommend you read the book Beyond the Blackboard. This slender volume is the inspirational story of teacher Stacey Bess of Salt Lake City, Utah.

As a first-year teacher, Stacey landed in a classroom set up in a storage shed in a local homeless shelter. The facility was literally referred to as the School With No Name. As you can imagine, her students wrestled with a variety of issues, including unstable living arrangements, domestic abuse, poverty, a transient lifestyle, and parents who abused alcohol and drug. Not the most desirable circumstances for learning. But this remarkable teacher created a safe and loving classroom environment for her kids—on a shoestring, no less. She went to battle with the local school board for a more suitable teaching space and better resources. And, oh, yeah, she raised her own family and defeated cancer at the same time.

You can read the story of the dynamic Stacey Bess in Beyond the Blackboard, available through amazon.com.

Connecticut’s David Bosso just inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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David Bosso, a high school social studies teacher from Berlin, Connecticut, was recently inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

It’s always gratifying when an outstanding educator receives national recognition for their work in the classroom. One such educator is Dr. David Bosso, a high school social studies teacher from Berlin, Connecticut. He was one of just five educators nationwide who were inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame last month.

David earned his Bachelor’s degree at Eastern Connecticut State University in 1997 and his Master’s degree at the University of Hartford in 2004. He completed the requirements for his Ph.D. at the American International College in 2014.

David inaugurated his career as a professional educator in 1997, when he accepted a position as a junior high school history and reading teacher at Holy Cross School. The next year he transferred to his alma mater, Berlin High School, where he still teaches today. In all, his career has spanned 21 years.

“Good teachers are driven by a sense of moral purpose, and they have a keen appreciation for the difference they can make in students’ lives,” asserts David. “They know that many times, it is paying attention to the little things that will pay important relational dividends,” he continues. “And this can mean the world to some students,” he concludes.

For his work in the classroom, David has earned many accolades in addition to this newest honor. In 2012 He was selected the Connecticut State Teacher of the Year, and he was also named the Social Studies Secondary Teacher of the Year by the National Council for the Social Studies. The Lowell Milken Center designated him an Unsung Heroes Fellow in 2014. In 2017 David garnered the Addazio Award by the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies.

To read more about this chalkboard champion, see the article entitled Berlin Teacher to be Inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame published online by the Connecticut Education Association.

Emma B. Alrich: The 19th-century teacher who served as a school superintendent

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Emma B. Alrich, the 19th-century teacher who served as a school superintendent.

There are many fine educators in American history who have served as pioneers in their field. One of these is Emma B. Alrich, a 19th-century teacher from Kansas who was the only woman of her time to serve as a superintendent of city schools.

Emma was born on April 4, 1845, in Seaville, Cape May County, New Jersey. She was an avid reader, even at an early age. At only three years old, she was reading the Bible. At the age of five, the enterprising child picked blackberries to earn the money to by an arithmetic book. By the time she was 12, she was writing for her local paper.

Emma earned her teacher’s certificate when she was only 16 years old. She opened a summer school in her home just as the War Between the States erupted. Two years later, to hone her teaching skills, Emma enrolled at the State Normal School in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1862. The institution is now known as The College of New Jersey. She earned her degree in 1864, valedictorian of her class.

In 1886 the young educator married Levi Alrich, a distinguished Civil War veteran who had fought for the North. Right after their marriage, the couple settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she taught school. Two years later, Emma and her husband migrated to Cawker City, Mitchell County, Kansas. While teaching there, the pioneering educator earned additional teaching certificates. She also became the superintendent of the city schools, the only woman in her day to serve in this capacity.While in the post she worked diligently to support teachers’ rights, a local women’s club, and the public library.

In 1883, Emma’s husband bought the local paper, the Free Press. He changed the publication’s name to the Public Record. Emma promptly rolled up her sleeves and worked as a journalist for her husband’s newspaper. At the same time, she served for two years on the Board of Teachers’ Examiners. In addition to this work, Emma was one of 40 local women who organized the National Women’s Relief Corps. She founded the Kansas Women’s Press Association, and she was one of three women who founded the Women’s Hesperian Library Club.

This amazing educator passed away on December 15, 1925, in Cawker City. She is interred in Prairie Grove Cemetery.

To learn more about Emma, click on this link: A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches.

 

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