Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Kindergarten teacher Connie Hall named Nevada’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Kindergarten teacher Connie Hall of Sparks, Nevada, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Nevada State Department of Education

Our country’s kindergarten kids are truly fortunate to have so many dedicated and compassionate teachers in their lives. Teachers such as Connie Hall, an educator from Sparks, Nevada. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Connie teaches at Lloyd Diedrichsen Elementary School. She says her primary goal is to build meaningful relationships with not only her students, but also everyone in the school community, including parents and colleagues. In a career that spans 29 years, she has taught children from nursery school to third grade.

Connie is well-respected by those who work on her campus. “Mrs. Hall is a passionate educator who puts her students first,” says Ryan Doetch, principal of Diedrichsen Elementary. “She is motivated by student success and is dedicated to creating lasting relationships with every child,” he continued.

The honored teacher has even garnered national attention for her work. Her classroom was filmed and featured in articles for several district and national projects. One project demonstrated her culturally responsive classroom for teacher training in her district. In addition, Connie’s class was one of five classrooms chosen nationally to be featured in The New Teacher Project Room to Run project. The intent of the program was to show what kids can accomplish with challenging, inspiring schoolwork.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Connie serves on her school’s Leadership Team, and she is a member of the Washoe County Early Childhood Advisory Council.

Her award as Nevada’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Connie has earned. She was named the 2019 Certified Employee of the Year for the Washoe County School District, and she has received two certificates of commendation from Nevada state Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Connie earned a Bachelor’s degree in both Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education from Oakwood University. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Common Core State Standards from Concordia University. She has been teaching since 1994.

To read more about Connie Hall, click on this link to Pacific Union Conference.

 

NY teacher Kemeisha Barrett garners 2023-2024 Big Apple Award

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Math teacher Kemeisha Barrett of Brooklyn, New York, has garnered a 2023-2024 Big Apple Award. Photo credit: Ebbetts Field Middle School

The city of New York is very proud of their public school teachers. In fact, city leaders regularly honor exceptional educators with their annual Big Apple Awards. For the 2023-2024 school year, one of these exceptional educators was Kemeisha Barrett, a middle school mathematics teacher at Ebbets Field Middle School in Brooklyn.

Kemeisha says her goal as an educator is to equip her seventh and eighth grade students with the tools they need to become problem-solvers and independent learners. “Math is often seen as a challenging subject, but I believe all students are capable of being successful with math,” she declares. “Students respond well when they are able to make connections between their academic encounters and cultural backgrounds. As such, I have challenged myself to establish a culturally responsive classroom environment for ALL of my students,” she continues.

The school where Kemeisha teaches is as special as the honored teacher. Ebbets Field Middle School is an education center founded in 2005 and located on the Jackie Robinson campus, the original home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. A large number of students who attend the school are immigrants or the children of immigrants. The learners who attend the school form a small community where every teacher knows every student and every student has plenty of opportunities to form and maintain strong friendships with other students.

This year, the Big Apple Awards were presented to 49 superlative New York City teachers. Each one was nominated by their principal for work in the profession that inspires students, models great teaching, and enriches school communities. The recipients were chosen through a rigorous selection process that includes community nominations, principal recommendations, classroom visits, an interview, and a review by a board of judges. To learn more about the program and this year’s recipients, click on this link to Big Apple Awards.

As 2023 Michigan State Teacher of the Year, Candice Jackson will focus on students’ mental health

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Candice Jackson, a third grade teacher in Detroit, Michigan, has been named the 2023 Michigan State Teacher of the Year. In this role, she plans to focus on students’ mental health issues. Photo credit: Riley Hodder, Bridge Michigan

Congratulations to elementary school teacher Candice Jackson of Detroit, Michigan, who was named her state’s 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year last month.

Candice teaches at the Mann Learning Community in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. In a career that has spanned 21 years, she has taught at the facility for the past six years. In addition to her work with students, Candice has spent five years mentoring other Detroit teachers in a professional development program called Master Teachers.

Candice says her decision to go into the teaching profession was an easy one. “I grew up in Macomb County, and I had very few teachers that looked like me,” she reveals. “My third grade teacher Mrs. Harrington was African American, and she was the epitome of grace, poise, and sophistication,” she says. “Unfortunately, that was one of the few encounters I had with a teacher that looked like me. That made me want to be what I did not have,” she explains. According to statistics compiled by the Michigan Department of Education in 2018, about 9% of teachers in Michigan were Black, while about 33% of students in the state are Black.

As her state’s Teacher of the Year, Candice will hold a non-voting seat at the State Board of Education meetings every month. She will also serve as a member of the governor’s Educator Advisory Council. In her new role, the honored educator hopes to increase focus on students’ mental health. “Kids are dealing with a lot,” Candice observes. “I think mental health is one of those things we ignore. And what ends up happening is things spiral out of control. If we pay attention to those risk factors, we can intervene early, and provide the necessary treatment,” she continues.And Candice believes that an increased focus on mental health will also help improve school safety.

Candice earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2001 and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2004, both from Michigan State University.

Each year, the Michigan Department of Education recognizes the state’s top teacher. The honor is selected for their dedication to the teaching profession, commitment to students, and professional accomplishments. The selection process begins with nominations from students, staff, and community members.

CA educator, physician, and veteran Dr. Cleveland Wright

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Educator and physician Dr. Cleveland Wright served our country honorably in the military during World War II. Photo credit: Tribute Archive

There have been many multi-talented educators who have served our country honorably in the military. One of these is Dr. Cleveland Wright, a World War II veteran, teacher, and physician.

Cleveland was born on Nov. 16, 1924, in Sumter, South Carolina. Sadly, his father passed away when Cleveland was just a small boy. He attended public schools in his home town, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1942, the salutatorian of his class. The next year, with World War II in full swing, Cleveland went into the US Army. He served in the Philippines until the the end of the war, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1946, he earned an Honorable Discharge.

Once his military service was completed, Cleveland returned to the United States, Landin in Washington, DC, where he enrolled at Howard University, a historically Black college. There he majored in zoology, completing the requirements for his Bachelor’s degree in 1949. He also became a member of the Omega Phi Fraternity.

Once he earned his college degree, Cleveland returned to South Carolina, where accepted a position teaching chemistry and physics at his high school alma mater at Lincoln. His career as an educator spanned nine years. During this time, he married Mildred Tidwell, and one son was born to the couple.

In 1958, Cleveland returned to Howard University, where he earned a degree in medicine in 1962. He then moved with. his family to the city of Riverside in Southern California, where he completed his internship and residency at Riverside Community Hospital. Once this work was completed, Cleveland established a private practice where he worked for 27 years. A beloved member of the community, he was recognized by Black Voice News in 1986 for his commitment and dedication to providing a better quality of life to the citizens of Riverside and San Bernardino through health care. He retired from the medical profession in 2008.

During some of these years, Cleveland served as the team doctor for the Rubidoux High School football team. He was also elected to the Riverside Unified School District Board of Education in 1976, the first African American to become a member of that body. He served a total of 14 years on the Board, and from 1982 to 1984, he acted as the Board’s President. He was also a member of the NAACP and the Rotary Club.

Dr. Cleveland Wright passed away on May 31, 2023, in Rialto, California. He was 98 years old. As a veteran, he was interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Capri Bell Salaam named Arkansas 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Arkansas middle school teacher Capri Bell Salaam has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Linked In

As a former junior high school teacher myself, I know that teaching at this grade level requires an extra amount of love, patience, and creativity. Capri Bell Salaam, a junior high school teacher from Arkansas, certainly possesses all these qualities. In fact, she is so wonderful at her work that she has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year!

Capri currently teaches seventh and eighth graders at North Little Rock Middle School. On her campus, she has been recognized as a one-of-a-kind educator dedicated to the development of the whole child. But that is not all she is known for. Students and colleagues alike say they appreciate her “over-the-top” lessons that make learning fun. She dances through the hallways, sometimes in costume, and ignites her students’ interest, fostering excitement for learning with innovative best practices.

“I bring it to life with hands-on activities, where they can experience it even though it happened in the past,” declares Capri. “For history to really resonate with our kids, they have to breathe it, feel it, speak it,” she asserts. Under her guidance, her students conduct a crime scene investigation into the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. Or the students dress in laboratory coats to do a mock autopsy of an injury-ridden President Andrew Jackson, to determine the state of his health and whether his health conditions—including bullets lodged in his torso as the result of a duel—affected his mental health and leadership abilities. In still another lesson, balls of paper are used to re-enact trench warfare. But this is not where the learning ends, Capri says. “We do tie it into the present. We do find the parallels from the past and modern times.”

Capri earned her Bachelor’s in English and Literature from the University of Central Arkansas in 2008. In addition, she earned a Master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching from Arkansas Tech University in 2016, and a second Master’s degree in Special Education at Harding University. She also completed the requirements for a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Technology from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, in 2023.

After earning her degrees, Capri inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a third grade teacher at Little Rock Preparatory Academy. She worked there two years, and then transitioned to North Little Rock Middle School, where she has spent the last eight years. She teaches Social Studies and English/Language Arts, and serves as a Special Education Resource teacher. In addition to working with her students, Capri provides professional development and coaching to other teachers on her campus in order to improve the overall instructional program. Recently she has joined the Adjunct Faculty at Arkansas Tech University.

Outside of the classroom, Capri also contributes to her community by volunteering with local charities.