Tag Archives: African American Teachers

NY educator Ayanna Emanuel receives 2022-2023 Big Apple Award

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Educator Ayanna Emanuel, who teaches junior high school math, has been named a recipient of a Big Apple Award for 2022-2023. Photo Credit: New York City Department of Education

It is always my pleasure to share stories about outstanding educators. One of these is Ayanna Emanuel, a junior high school math teacher from New York. Ayanna has been named a recipient of a Big Apple Award for 2022-2023.

Ayanna says the driving force behind all of her instructional plans is creating an environment of equity where students develop a genuine appreciation of mathematics. She strives to know each and every one of her students as individuals, and has been able to build a rapport with each one that is based in trust.

Ayanna declares she prioritizes critical thinking over procedural or mechanical work. In her classroom, she begins each lesson asking students what they “notice.” She believes this practice incites curiosity and critical thinking. She says students often notice things that go beyond the mathematical intention behind the questions.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Ayanna is also a member of her school’s Instructional Leadership Team, and she has led a PTA meeting about standards-based grading and the positive impact of growth mindset. In addition, she has initiated vertical alignment of Math Department grading, and works with her District’s Math Equity Group. Furthermore, Ayanna is focused on providing Algebra for All access for all her eighth grade students.

As if all this were not enough, Ayanna created a step dance group as part of an after school program. Step dance gives the students an opportunity to express themselves freely while building community.

This is the tenth year that the Big Apple Awards have honored outstanding educators for their leadership, dedication to students, and contributions to their school communities. Each year, 20 educators across New York City are recognized. They represent all five boroughs and teach a range of subject areas and grade levels.

Elem teacher Constance Clayton: Philadelphia trailblazer

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Trailblazer Constance Clayton, an elementary school teacher, became the first African American and the first woman to become the Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. Photo Credit: The Philadelphia Tribune

There are many fine teachers who go on to positions of leaderships within their districts. They may even become trailblazers in the profession! One of these is Constance Clayton, who became the first African American and the first woman to become the Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia.

Constance was born in Philadelphia in 1933. As a youngster, she attended the city’s Girls’ High, Jay Cooke Junior High School, and Paul L. Dunbar School. After her high school graduation, she went on to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Temple University in 1955 and her PhD from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania in 1981.

Once she earned her degrees, Constance inaugurated her career in education when she accepted a position teaching fourth grade at William H. Harrison Elementary School in North Philadelphia. She spent 16 years in the classroom. Next, between 1971 to 1972, she worked for the US Department of Labor in Washington, DC, she became the director of the Women’s Bureau for the Middle Atlantic States. Her work there involved improving the status of employment equity for women. In 1973, she returned to Philadelphia, where she became the first Director, and then the Associate Superintendent, of the Early Childhood Program for the school district.

In 1982, Constance was selected for the position of Superintendent of Schools for Philadelphia. With this selection, the former classroom teacher became the first African American and the first woman to become the Superintendent of the Philadelphia schools. She served in this role for 11 years before her retirement in 1993.

In Philadelphia, the influence of this Chalkboard Champion still goes far and wide. “She has a big heart, and there are children that still remember her from when she was a teacher, an educator, and principal,” declares colleague Howard C. Stevenson, who has known Clayton for more than 20 years. “We still hear about her contributions in that regard.”

To read more about Constance Clayton, click on this link to a story about her published in the Philadelphia Tribune.

Retired South Carolina teacher Jennifer Clyburn Reed still serves community

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Retired middle school teacher Jennifer Clyburn Reed still serves her community. She was appointed by Pres. Joe Biden to serve on a federal committee that explores economic and poverty issues in South Carolina. Photo Credit: Southeast Crescent Regional Commission

It is always a privilege to share stories about hardworking educators who continue to serve their community, even after they leave the classroom. One of these is Jennifer Clyburn Reed, a retired middle school teacher who now serves on a committee that explores economic and poverty issues for her home state of South Carolina.

Born on Aug. 16, 1970, Jennifer is the middle child of three girls. She is the daughter of Jim Clyburn, who currently serves as the House Majority Whip in the US House of Representatives. Her mother, now deceased, was Emily (England) Clyburn.

After her graduation from Keenan High School in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1987, Jennifer earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1991, a Master’s degree in Education in 1992, and a certification as an Education Specialist in 1994, all from the University of South Carolina. She earned her PhD in Educational Leadership in 2015 from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Jennifer’s career as an educator spanned 28 years. She worked for 25 years at Richland County Middle School. There she served as a teacher and coordinator of her school’s AVID program. AVID is an acronym that stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, a high school program that prepares minority and under-represented students for success at college. Jennifer next served as an Education Specialist for the South Carolina State Department of Education. In this role, she worked as an English teacher and literacy coach for the South Carolina Reading Initiative.

In 2017, Jennifer moved to the university level, where she served as the Director of the Center for the Education and Equity of African American students at the University of South Carolina. While there, she helped design the Apple Core Initiative (ACI), a program that works toward teacher recruitment, enrollment, and retention. She also served on the selection committee for the the Emily Clyburn Honors College Scholarship at South Carolina State University. She retired from the teaching profession in 2020.

In Aug., 2021, the former teacher was nominated by President Joe Biden to be a Co-Chairperson of the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, a federal organization that works on issues related to poverty and the economy in the Southeastern United States. The US Senate confirmed her appointment in Dec., 2021. Her Co-Chairperson is South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.

 

Educator Mary Bethune McLeod honored in US Capitol’s Statuary Hall

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The newest addition to the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall is the image of educator Mary McLeod Bethune, a teacher, women’s rights activist, and Civil Rights leader in Florida. Photo Credit: US House of Representatives

Many exceptional educators have earned honors for their work in the profession, and now, one of them was singled out for recognition in the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall this month. She is Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American teacher who was was also a women’s rights activist and Civil Rights leader in Florida.

The statue of the honored educator towers at 11 feet tall and was created from marble originating from the same Tuscan quarry in the Italian Alps used by Michelangelo. The block, which originally weighed 11,500 tons, was fashioned into the image of the teacher by artist Nilda Comas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who was selected in a national competition run by Florida’s Council on Arts and Culture in 2016. Inscribed at the foot of her statue is Mary’s famous quote: “Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it may be a diamond in the rough.”

Mary was born on July 10, 1875, to former slaves in a log cabin on a plantation in Maysville, South Carolina. She was the only one of her parents’ 17 children to be born into freedom. When the Civil War was won, Mary’s mother worked for her former owner until she could buy the land on which the McLeod family grew cotton. By nine years of age, young Mary could pick 250 pounds of cotton a day.

Even as a youngster, Mary showed an unusual interest in books and reading. However, in those days it was rare for African Americans to receive an education. Nevertheless, a charitable organization interested in providing educational opportunities for Black children established a school near Mary’s home. Her parents could scrape together only enough money to pay the tuition for one of their children, and Mary was chosen. Later, the future educator earned a scholarship to attend the Scotia Seminary, a boarding school in North Carolina. She graduated from there in 1894. She also attended Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in Chicago, Illinois. Her studies there spanned two years.

When she grew up, Mary retained her strong desire to extend educational opportunities to other African Americans. She became a teacher in South Carolina. While there, she married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune. In 1904 Mary founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. Beginning with five students, she helped expand the school to more than 250 students over the next few years. Today, this school is known Bethune-Cookman University.

In her later years, Mary became a close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and also a trusted adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt. In recognition of her outstanding abilities, the President made her a member of his unofficial “Black Cabinet.” He also appointed her the head of the National Youth Administration in 1936. In 1937 the indefatigable educator organized a conference on the Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth, and she fought tirelessly to end discrimination and lynching. In 1940, Mary became the Vice President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP), a position she held for the rest of her life. In 1945, she was appointed by President Harry Truman to be the only woman of color present at the founding meeting of the United Nations.

This celebrated educator passed away peacefully on May 18, 1955. For all her accomplishments, Mary McLeod Bethune is truly a Chalkboard Champion. It is fitting and proper that she should be honored in our nation’s Capitol. To read more about her, see this link at the website for the National Women’s History Museum.

NYC’s Mary Eato: Teacher and Women’s Suffragist

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Teachers are typically among those citizens who work the hardest for the benefit of society as a whole. This is certainly true of Mary Eato, an African American educator who also fought valiantly for women’s suffrage.

Mary Eato (who is also known as Mary Eaton) was born in New York City, New York, on Sept. 23, 1844. She was the daughter of Sarah Jane Eato, a dressmaker, and Timothy Eato, a Methodist preacher. By all accounts, Mary’s childhood was rough. As an African American, she battled rampant racism. And when her father died in 1854, her mother was left to raise their seven children alone.

In Jul, 1861, Mary earned her teaching certificate from a New York normal school. She was the only African American graduate in her class. She was only 16 years old when she began teaching elementary students in New York City’s “colored schools.” She taught first at Grammar School No. 3 on 41st Street and later at Grammar School No. 80 on 42nd St.

Intent upon honing her professional skills, Mary went back to school where, in 1891, she earned a Master’s degree in Pedagogy from the University of the City of New York.

While teaching, Mary met Sarah Garnet, the first African American woman to become a school principal in New York City. Garnet founded the Colored Women’s Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn. Mary joined the organization, and even served as its Vice President in 1908. The group worked tirelessly to abolish both gender and race bias in New York City.

In her role as Vice President, Mary presided over most of the meetings and events of the Equal Suffrage League which took place during her tenure. She helped the club organize a celebration in honor of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. She regularly invited speakers to address the group about topics related to women’s suffrage. She organized the formal readings of papers or poems, and the singing of women’s suffrage songs. She also organized a vote to accept an invitation to work with the Inter-Urban Association, an organization in New York that coordinated the efforts of 23 local clubs to work together for women’s suffrage.

In addition to her membership in the Equal Suffrage League, the dedicated educator was a longtime member of St. Mark’s Methodist Episcopal Church. For a time she served as the church’s treasurer. She also held offices in St. Mark’s Mutual Aid Society, the New York African Society for Mutual Relief, and a branch of the African American Council. In addition, Mary helped establish and run the Hope Day Nursery for Colored Children, which was founded in 1902. For many years Mary served as the Vice President of that organization.

In all, Mary devoted 44 years to the classroom. She retired in 1904. This Chalkboard Champion passed away on Feb. 8, 1915. She was 70 years old.

To learn more about the work of Mary Eato, read this article by Susan Goodier and Karen Pastorello published by The Gotham Center for New York City History.