Congratulations to Leon Smith, a high school Social Studies teacher from Pennsylvania. He has been named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year. Leon teaches Advanced Placement US History and Advanced Placement African American Studies to sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Haverford High School in Haverford./
Many talented educators also work to improve the lives of the people of their city through community activism. Leona Washington of El Paso, Texas, was one such educator. Photo credit: El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs
Many talented educators also work to improve the lives of the people of their city through community activism. Leona Washington of El Paso, Texas, was one such educator.
Leona was born in 1928 in El Paso. As a young woman, she attended Prairie View A&M University. There she earned both her Bachelor’s and her Master’s degrees. Once she earned her degrees, Leona taught for two years in Las Cruces schools. Later, Leona became a teacher in Douglass School, a segregated school in the El Paso Independent School District. Her career there spanned 39 years.
In addition to her classroom duties, Leona founded the McCall Neighborhood Center in El Paso. There she worked as the first Executive Director of the facility, which served both the African American and Mexican American communities in the city. In addition, she was a co-founder and principal organizer of the annual Miss Black El Paso Southwest Scholarship Pageant. She also served as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer of the Phillis Wheatley Chapter of El Paso, an organization that provided a food bank for needy families and the elderly. She was also a member of the NAACP, the El Paso Community Foundation Advisory Board, the Arts and Resources Board of El Paso, and the Planned Parenthood Board of El Paso.
As if all this were not enough, Leona accepted the responsibilities of publishing The Good Neighbor Interpreter, a newspaper that provided news about the African American community to the residents of El Paso. In addition, she composed the song “The City of El Paso,” which was adopted as the city’s official song in the 1980’s.
For her many works of community activism, Leona earned many accolades. She was inducted into the El Paso County Democratic Hall of Fame in 1984, and in 1991, she was inducted into the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame. She was given the city of El Paso’s Conquistador Award in 2000. She also received Woman of the Year Award in 2002 and the Myrna J. Deckert Lifetime Achievement Award by the YWCA in 2007, the last honor posthumously.
Leona passed away on August 5, 2007. To learn more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this article about her published in the Texas State Historical Association.
New York Social Studies teacher Harold Jackman was a model, magazine editor, and charismatic patron of the arts during the Harlem Renaissance. Here he is depicted in the 1925 drawing A College Lad. Photo Credit: Winold Reiss
New York Social Studies teacher Harold Jackman was a model, magazine editor, and charismatic patron of the arts during the Harlem Renaissance. Here he is depicted in the 1925 drawing A College Lad. Photo Credit: Winold Reiss
II always enjoy shining a spotlight on exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their outstanding achievements outside of the classroom. Today, I shine the light on Harold Jackman, a very accomplished African American social studies teacher, model, and magazine editor in New York City.
Harold was born on Aug. 18, 1901, in London, England. When he was a child, he immigrated to the United States with his mother, who was originally from the West Indies, and his brother. Once the family landed in the Bronx borough of New York City, Harold attended the prestigious all-boys school DeWitt Clinton High School. In 1923 he earned a Bachelor’s degree from New York University and in 1927 he completed the requirements for his Master’s degree from Columbia University. He then inaugurated his career as a professional educator. In a career that spanned 30 years, Harold taught social studies in New York City Public Schools in Harlem.
In addition to his work in the schools, Harold worked as a model at the Grace Del Marco Agency. He served as the model for Winold Reiss in his 1925 drawing A College Lad. Harold was also a patron of of the arts, most notably African American theater. He was a founding member for the Krigwa Players Little Negro Theater in 1926, and he helped establish the Harlem Experimental theater in 1929. He was also a member of the American Theater Wing State Door Canteen during the 1940s. Furthermore, Harold served on the Executive Board of the Negro Actors Guild.
Harold had many friends in artistic spheres. One of his best friends was Countee Cullen, a school friend from Clinton DeWitt who became a renowned poet of the Harlem Renaissance. In fact, Countee Cullen dedicated his famous poem “Heritage” to Harold. Very interested in literary pursuits, Harold served as the Associate Editor of New Challenge Magazine from 1935 to 1937. He also served as a contributing editor to Phylon from 1944 to 1956 and an advisory editor from 1957 to 1961. The charismatic teacher also served as the inspiration for several fictional characters. He appears in Wallace Thurman’s Infants of Spring, Carl Van Vechten’s Nigger Heaven, and Ben Neihart’s Rough Amusements, The True Story of A’Lelia Walker, Patroness of the Harlem Renaissance’s Down-Low Culture.
Sadly, this remarkable teacher succumbed to cancer at a hospital in Maine on July 8, 1961. After his passing, Harold Jackman’s diaries, manuscripts, correspondence, and other personal papers were donated to Atlanta University, where they became part of the Cullen-Jackman Memorial Collection in recognition of their historic value. In addition, the Harold Jackman Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to art in New York was established in his honor.
Former English teacher Lillian Lowery logged many accomplishments as an educator. Photo credit: Newark Post
I always enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have completed remarkable careers in the field of education. One of these is former English teacher Lillian Lowery.
Lillian was born in Gastonia, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina Central University in 1976. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1978. She completed the requirements for her Ph.D. in Education and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Lillian inaugurated her teaching career as a middle school English teacher at Gaston County Schools in Gastonia. She also taught in schools in Alexandria, Virginia; Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virigina; and Fort Wayne Community School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. With each new position, Lillian expanded her experience as an educator, serving as a high school English teacher, an assistant principal, a minority student achievement monitor, a principal, and an area coordinator.
In 2004, Lillian accepted a position as the Secretary of Education in Delaware, and then as the Superintendent of the Christina School District in Newark, Delaware. While living in that state, she also served as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. Next she moved to Maryland, where she served as the Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education.
In September, 2015, Lillian became the first President and Chief Executive Officer of FutureReady Columbus, a non-profit specializing in early childhood education located in Columbus, Ohio. In March, 2017, she was appointed Vice President for PreK-12 Policy, Research, and Practice at The Education Trust, a national nonprofit working to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps in K-12 education. This organization is located in Washington, DC.
For her work as an educator, Lillian garnered many prestigious awards. In 2015, the National Association of State Boards of Education honored her as the “Policy Leader of the Year.” This honor is awarded annually to a national or state policymaker in recognition of significant contributions to education. Lillian has also garnered the Second Mile Award from the University of Delaware; Wilmington, Delaware’s Junior Achievement Award; the City of Fairfax Mayor’s Service Award; and the Outstanding Service Award from the City of Fairfax School Board.
During her career, Lillian served on the boards of several organizations, Delaware State University, edreports.org, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Her final appointment came when, in 2018, she became the Vice President of Student and Teacher Assessments for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey.
Lillian retired in January, 2022, and, sadly, she passed away three months later, on April 13, 2022. She was 67 years old.
Trailblazing educator Mildred Crumples was also a politician and community activist. Photo credit: Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance
Many excellent school teachers not only dedicate their efforts towards their students, but also work tirelessly to improve the lives of others in their community. This is the case with Mildred Crump, a trailblazing teacher who also devoted her considerable energy to her community as a community activist.
Mildred was born in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 3, 1938, the daughter of a union organizer. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. There she was named the recipient of the David D. McKenzie Honor Society Award as the “Most Outstanding Female Student for Leadership and Scholarship.” Later Mildred earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University located in Newark, New Jersey.
Mildred inaugurated her career as an educator in Detroit. She became the first African American to teach Braille there. In 1965, Mildred relocated to Newark, New Jersey, where she became the first African American teacher of Braille in the state. For many years, Mildred worked as a teacher and consultant with the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Her career as an educator spanned 42 years.
Mildred also contributed to her community through public office. She was elected Newark’s first African-American Councilwoman in 1994, the first African American to serve on the Council in the city’s 336-year history. She served in this role until 2021.
A longtime community activist, Mildred was a tireless advocate for women, children, senior citizens, the disabled, working families and others in need. She served as the president and a member of the Board of Trustees for Integrity House, Inc.; Vice Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the Bridge to Recovery; and a charter member of the African American Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. As an advocate for women’s empowerment, she presented workshops on women’s issues throughout the United States, and in many international countries, including China, Ghana, and Nigeria. She was also a founding member of the New Jersey Coalition of 100 Black Women, and a Golden Heritage Life Member of the Newark Branch of the NAACP.
For her work as an educator, politician, and community activist, Mildred garnered many awards. She earned the Susan Burgess Memorial Award for Exemplary Leadership from the National Democratic Municipal Officials. She also received the Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. In 2020, she was inducted into the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Hall of Fame.
Mildred Crump passed away on Dec. 1, 2024, at the age of 86. She is interred at Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield, New Jersey. To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to Rutgers.
