Tag Archives: African American Teachers

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.

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.