Tag Archives: African American Teachers

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Civil Rights activist Fannie Richards first Black teacher in Detroit

Posted on by

Civil Rights activist Fannie Richards of Detroit, Michigan, is recognized as the first African American school teacher in her city. Photo credit: Black Then

Throughout our country, many excellent educators logged “firsts” in their community. One of these was Fannie Richards. She is recognized as the first African American school teacher in Detroit, Michigan.

Fannie was born on Oct. 1, 1840, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the child of free persons of color. When she was just a child, her family moved to Toronto, Canada. She enrolled in Canadian public schools, and once she graduated, she continued her studies at Toronto Normal School and then in Germany, where she worked with education expert Wilhelm Frobel as he developed the innovative new concept of kindergartens.

Once she returned to the United States, Fannie landed in Detroit. Because of her exceptional scholastic record, she was able to secure a position as a teacher in Detroit city schools. But in 1863 Fannie decided to strike out on her own. She opened a private school for African American children, which she operated for five years. In 1868, she returned to public schools when she was hired to teach in Colored School No. 2.

Under the leadership of John Bagley in 1870, Fannie and members of her family protested vehemently against Detroit’s segregated school system. The effort yielded the desired results when, in 1871, the Michigan State Supreme Court ordered the Detroit Board of Education to abolish separate schools for White and African American children. That same year, Fannie was transferred to the newly-integrated Everett Elementary School, where she established the first kindergarten in Detroit. In all, she taught at that school for 44 years.

Fannie’s activism went beyond the classroom, as she founded the Phyllis Wheatley Home for Aged Colored Ladies which was established to meet the needs of poor and elderly Black women in her community. In 1898, she became the home’s first president.

In 1915, after a career that spanned more than 50 years, Fannie retired. She passed away seven years later on Feb. 13, 1922, at the age of 81. For her work in Michigan’s schools, the Chalkboard Champion was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

 

Former English teacher Vanessa Siddle Walker is an expert on African American educational history

Posted on by

Vanessa Siddle Walker, a former high school English teacher, has earned a reputation as an expert on African American educational history. Photo credit: The New Press

Many superlative classroom teachers have devoted their careers to promoting better education for African American students. One of these is Vanessa Siddle Walker, a former high school English teacher who has earned a reputation as an expert on African American educational history.

Vanessa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She earned her Master’s in Education from Harvard University in 1985. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Education from Harvard University in 1988.

In 1980, Vanessa inaugurated her career in education when she accepted a position as an English teacher at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina. Later she relocated to Cummings High School, a desegregated high school in Burlington, North Carolina. She taught there for four years. She also taught English seminars for two summers at a math and science program for minority students at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

After leaving the high school classroom, Vanessa conducted exhaustive studies of segregation in the American educational system that spanned 25 years. As a result of her research, she published the nonfiction work The Lost Education of Horace Tate: Uncovering the Hidden Heroes Who Fought for Justice in Schools (2020). Her other books include Facing Racism in Education (2004) and Hello Professor: A Black Principal and Professional Leadership in the Segregated South (2009).

In addition, Vanessa has published numerous scholarly articles. Among the journals publishing her research are Review of Education Research, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Research, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Negro Education, and Teachers College Record.

For her body of work, Vanessa has earned many accolades. She has garnered the Grawemeyer Award for Education; the Raymond Cattell Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association; the Spelman College Award for Outstanding Leadership in Education; the Young Scholars Award from the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools; the Best First Book Award from the History Division of the American Educational Research Association; and the Best New Female Scholar Award from the Research Focus on Black Education of the American Educational Research Association. She also received a Spencer Foundation post-doctoral fellowship. And she is a former Fellow of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of AERA.

Today, Vanessa is a Professor of African American Educational Studies at Emory University located in Atlanta, Georgia. She also lectures extensively both nationally and internationally.