Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Sharon Stephen-Buitrago named the 2023 BABSE Broward County Science Teacher of the Year

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Sharon Stephen-Buitrago has been named the Broward County Science Teacher of the Year for 2023 by the Broward Alliance of Black School Educators (BABSE). Photo credit: BABSE

Congratulations are due to elementary educator Sharon Stephen-Buitrago. She has been named the Broward County Science Teacher of the Year for 2023 by the Broward Alliance of Black School Educators (BABSE), a division of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE).

The NABSE is the nation’s foremost non-profit organization devoted to furthering the academic success for American youth, especially children of African descent. Now in year 53 since its founding, NABSE boasts an outreach to more than 10,000 pre-eminent educators including teachers, administrators, and superintendents, as well as corporate and institutional members. Founded in 1970, NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance, and overall achievement.

So Sharon is in very good company, indeed. Currently, she serves as a teacher and science coach at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Montessori Academy School, a magnet school of Broward County Public Schools in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Previously she taught fifth grade at Pompano Beach Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale, where she worked since Aug., 2008. Prior to that, she taught for ten years for Ascension Parish Schools in St. Amant, Louisiana.

Sharon earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 1998 and her Master’s degree in Education in 2007, both from Southeastern Louisiana University. She earned a Certificate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Florida Atlantic University.

To learn more about both BABSE and NABSE, click on this link to BABSE.

Elem teacher Reggie LeDon White named 2023 Alabama Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Reggie LeDon White has been named as the 2023 Alabama State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: ABC News

It is always my pleasure to share stories about exemplary educators who have earned accolades for their workin the classroom. One of these is Reggie LeDon White, an elementary school teacher from Alabama who has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Reggie teaches fifth-grade at Booker T. Washington K-8 School in Birmingham. The honored educator believes that relationships are the key to successful teaching. “By building solid relationships and comprehensively investing in education, we have a better chance of ensuring that every student can achieve their full potential and contribute to the success of our society,” Reggie asserts.

Reggie was raised in a small town in south Alabama. After his graduation from Southern Choctaw High School, he had an opportunity to spend a summer break  in San Jose, California. As the summer progressed, Reggie developed a passion for teaching. The final incentive to enter the profession came when he watched a television commercial that featured a child saying, “We need you.”

Reggie earned his Bachelor’s degree in elementary Education from Alabama State. He earned his Master’s degree in Education Administration. He also has an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and he is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certified Teacher. His career as an educator spans 26 years.

Since its inauguration in 1952, the Teacher of the Year program has celebrated educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and four US territories. Each year, these exemplary teachers have been recognized at a ceremony at the White House, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year that follows their selection, these teachers are invited to learn at Google, develop a TEDEd talk, and attend Space Camp, among other honors.

 

Math teacher Michael Harding named Minnesota’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Mathematics teacher Michael Houston has been named the 2023 Minnesota State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Minnesota Public Radio

There are many people today who are calling for curriculum that meets real-world needs. Minnesota teacher Michael Houston has developed an instructional program that responds to this call. And he has been rewarded for his effort. Michael has been named the 2023 Minnesota State Teacher of the Year.

Michael teaches mathematics at Harding High School in the Saint Paul Public Schools system. In a career that spans 19 years at Harding, Michael has devoted 18 of them to the school’s football program, ten of them as Head Coat. He also serves as the Mathematics Department Chair, he is a learning team facilitator, and he is active in the local teachers’ union. And as if all that were not enough, he also works as an adjunct professor at Concordia, teaching math classes to prospective elementary teachers.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Michael was raised in a single-parent household. He struggled in school, but when he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, St. Paul, he was the first in his family to graduate from college. Michael also earned a Master’s degree from Hamline University.

Michael works diligently to develop curriculum that is relevant and responsive. “I did a lot of reflection about my teaching practices and what I can do, especially when we come back to the classroom, about trying to engage students and mathematics. Especially when they try to apply it outside the classroom,” explains Michael. In response, he developed lessons on personal finance, taxes, 401K’s, pensions, and Social Security.

“The generation now is really heavy on the use of technology,” observes Michael. “So I try to include investigations in which they can use their device,” he continues. “We were learning about exponential functions, and we were learning about investing, and there’s a nice little app, a little game that students were able to engage with and learn how to pick stock and invest and see the growth of that over time,” he concludes.

This is the second year that Michael has been nominated for the Teachers of the Year Award. He was named a finalist in 2017.

 

Jimmy Day named Colorado’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school music educator Jimmy Lee Day II has been named the 2023 Colorado State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Rocky Mountain PBS

It is always my pleasure to celebrate exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Jimmy Lee Day II, a band director from Aurora, Colorado. He has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. He is the first African American man to win the coveted recognition.

Jimmy teaches instrumental music to sixth graders, seventh graders, and eighth graders at East Middle School in Aurora. He has taught there since 2017. In a career that has spanned 14 years, he has expanded three struggling band programs in urban areas. He transformed each of them into award-winning programs, earning superior scores at district music festivals. In fact, as a result of his effective teaching, Jimmy was chosen to participate as a mentor in the Public Education & Business Coalition and the Aurora Public School Mentoring Community of Practice.

The honored educator says the core strategies to his success as a teacher are twofold: Connection and consistency. “From classroom management to how I rehearse my students to how I want my expectations—it’s consistent, it doesn’t change, it’s unbending. And then my connection—me making myself human just like you—and we make connections,” he asserts.

What inspired Jimmy to pursue a career as a music educator? “I am originally from Detroit,” he explains. “The band director at my middle school, Mrs. Knox, saw my potential to be a great instrumentalist. She helped me attend after-school practice twice a week. My parents did not have a car and the school was far from where I stayed. As a result, I wasn’t able to attend practice most of the time. She offered to take me home when I wasn’t able to get a ride,” he continues. “At the time, I figured she was just being nice, but reflecting on it as an older person, I see that she saw me as an investment in her program, and she made sure to invest in me as well,” he concludes.

Jimmy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music at Tennessee State University in 2006. He earned his Master’s degree in Teaching at Trevecca Nazarene University in 2008.

Georgia teacher Patricia Ramón advanced the cause of Civil rights during the 1960’s

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High school English teacher Patricia Ramón of Atlanta, Georgia, was one of many African American educators who worked diligently to advance the cause of Civil Rights during the 1960’s. Photo credit: Teachers in the Movement

Many exceptional African American educators worked diligently to advance the cause of Civil Rights during the 1960’s. One of these was Patricia Ramón, who was a high school English teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, during The Movement.

Patricia earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Education at Clark College, a predominantly Black university at the time. The institution is now known as Clark Atlanta University. She earned her Master’s degree at Georgia State University, a predominantly White university also located in Atlanta. When she garnered a Reader’s Digest grant, she completed the courses required to earn an Education Specialist degree in 1995.

When Patricia was a youngster, she attended Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where Martin Luther King’s father, who was known as “Daddy King,” was a popular pastor. Patricia participated in the church choir, which was directed by MLK’s mother. And she often babysat for the family. When he grew to national prominence, MLK attended church services, where she learned the latest news about the Civil Rights Movement on Sunday. She would then take that information back to her classroom at Benjamin E. Mays High School on Monday. Her students became keenly aware of the Black activists who were out marching, preaching, and teaching about equal opportunity in Atlanta and elsewhere.

In addition, Patricia inaugurated her own version of Black Literature studies in her classroom. She introduced her students to prominent Black authors, including such notables as Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Richard Wright, and poets from the Harlem Renaissance. This was pioneering curriculum in the 1960’s.

To learn more about Patricia Ramón and other teachers who were active in the classroom during the Civil Rights Movement, click on this link to the Teachers in the Movement Project.