VA teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case

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Virginia science teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case. Photo credit: Black Then

Often times teachers are at the forefront of movements that benefit entire groups of people in our society. One of these teachers was educator Aline Black Hicks, a high school science teacher who launched an important civil rights court case about equal pay.

Aline was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 23, 1906. As a young girl, she attended Booker T. Washington High School in her home town. After her graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. The school is known today as Virginia State University. Aline earned her Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1935.

The neophyte educator inaugurated her career as a teacher when she accepted a position at her alma mater, Booker T. Washington, in 1924. She taught science and chemistry. As an African American, she earned only two-thirds the salary earned by a white teacher doing the same job. Although it was later determined to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this was a common practice in that time.

In 1939, Aline filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk School Board, asking that they base teachers’ salaries on experience and education rather than race. She had the backing of the Norfolk Teachers Association, the Virginia State Teachers Association, and the NAACP. One of her attorneys was Thurgood Marshall, who later became an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Aline was fired in retaliation for her lawsuit. Once she was no longer employed by the school district, her case was dismissed. However, her lawyers took the case forward with another local teacher, Melvin O. Alston. Eventually the case went all the way to tour nation’s highest court, where the issue was eventually decided in favor of the African American plaintiffs.

In 1941, the Norfolk School board rehired Aline to teach at the school where she had formerly worked. From 1970 to 1973, she worked at Jacox Junior High School as an Instructional Development Specialist until she retired in 1973.

In 2008, Aline was named a Notable African Americans in Virginia History by the Library of Virginia. In 1971, she garnered the Norfolk “Backbone Award” by the Education Association for her contribution to financial, educational and social equality.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in Norfolk on August 22, 1974. To read more about her, consult this article in Encyclopedia Virginia.

Matthew Winheim named CA 2025 State Teacher of the Year

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Middle school STEM educator Matthew Winheim has been named the 2025 California State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Flight Test Historical Foundation

I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned honors for his work in the classroom. One of these is Matthew Winheim, a STEM teacher from California. He has been named his state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Matthew teachers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to middle schoolers at the Space and Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration (SAGE) Magnet Academy. The school is part of the Palmdale School District located in Southern California. There Matthew integrates aeronautics in his STEM course to inspire the next generation of innovators and aviators.

One of his most notable accomplishments was helping to create and establish a high school math course in collaboration with a community college. This course reduced the need for remediation and prepared students for success in STEM careers. 

In addition, Matthew is a veteran of the US Air Force. And his commitment to the military community continues, even though he has been discharged. To this end, he serves as the president of a nonprofit called the Edwards Air Force Base Civilian-Military Support Group. The organization supporting active–duty military personnel and their families in the community.

His selection as California’s Teacher of the Year is not the only honor Matthew has earned. In 2022, he was honored as a “Hometown Hero” at the Edwards Open House and STEM Expo, where he flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Matthew earned his Associate of Science degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the Community College of the Air Force in 2000. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Mathematics from California State University, Bakersfield, in 2002. He earned his Master’s degree in Mathematics Education from Western Governors University in 2008. His career as an educator spans more than 20 years.

 

Teacher Clara Comstock helped orphan children find homes

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Clara Comstock

Teacher Clara Comstock, second from right, with a colleague and a group of homeless children she escorted on an Orphan Train. Circa 1910. Photo credit: Children’s Aid Society

Throughout our country’s history there are many examples of dedicated educators going above and beyond in order to help young students, both inside the classroom and in their personal lives. One of these was Clara Comstock, a hardworking teacher from New York who helped placed more than 12,000 orphan children into loving homes.

Clara was born on July 5, 1879, in Hartsville, New York, the daughter of hardy pioneer stock. Her father was a farmer and blacksmith. As a young girl, Clara was educated at the Canisteo Academy in the neighboring town of Canisteo, New York. She graduated in 1895 at the age of 16 and spent the next several years completing her teacher training courses.

Clara inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1903 at the Brace Memorial Farm School in Valhalla, New York. Her students were New York City “street Arabs,” homeless boys that were orphaned, abandoned, or removed from their homes because their parents were deemed unfit or unable to adequately care form them. At the Farm School, these kids were taught fundamental literacy skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, some vocational training, including carpentry, shoe-making, and box-making.

After a few years, in order to be of greater service to homeless kids, Clara accepted a position with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists today to benefit needy children. The CAS organized the famous Orphan Trains, small groups of children that were transported west and placed in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. Clara escorted many of these groups, conducted background checks on prospective foster parents, and made periodic checks on the children she placed. She did this work until her retirement in 1928, then she spent another two decades working for the CAS in-state foster care program.

During her lifetime, Clara placed more than 12,000 homeless children in homes, painstakingly keeping track of each one of them until they reached adulthood. She kept a personal diary and filled several trunks with meticulous records of the children she worked with. Decades later, these records became invaluable resources for Orphan Train riders who were seeking information about their origins.

You can read more about this amazing and dedicated teacher and the orphan train system in my book Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon.

Spring Break, inspiration, and professional renewal

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Easter time, and its accompanying Spring Break (yippee!), is a time of renewal and new growth, not only spiritually and personally, but professionally as well. Whenever I am looking for professional inspiration, I turn to a handy little book called The Quotable Teacher edited by Randy Howe.

This little volume is divided into ten chapters devoted to various teaching topics of interest to educators. For example, “Those Who Teach,” “The Philosophy Behind Good Teaching,” “The Need to Think Outside the Box,” and “Those We Teach.” Before I retired, I kept a copy of this dandy little inspirational book on my desk at school for those moments when I needed a little lift.

If you wish to acquire this thought-provoking volume, you can find The Quotable Teacher on amazon.com.