Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Texas educator Monica Washington inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Former high school English teacher Monica Washington from Texarkana, Texas, is one of only five educators nationwide who have been inducted into the 2023 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame.  Photo Credit: Linked In

Congratulations to educator Monica Washington, a former English teacher from Texarkana, Texas. She is one of only five educators nationwide who have been inducted into the 2023 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Monica inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1998 at an inner-city school in Memphis, Tennessee. After transferring to Texas High School in Texarkana, she taught English and AP English and served as the Department Chair at Texas High School for nine years there. During her career, she has also served as a a coordinator for the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and a REACH co-ordinator on her campus. Over the course of her 20-year career, she has taught grades 7-12.

Monica once confessed that she has wanted to be a educator since she was a child. She revealed that when she was young, she taught teddy bears in her room and later “tortured” friends from her neighborhood with lessons on her porch. She says that the encouragement to learn and teach came from her mother and other teachers in her life.

In addition to her work at Texas High, Monica is an adjunct professor at both LeMoyne-Owen College and Texarkana College. She is member of the NEA Foundation Board and chairs the NEA Teacher Advisory Committee. She has also co-chaired the Leading the Profession Committee for the Texas State Teachers Association. Additionally, she has served in the Texas State Teachers Association and the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. And, as if all this were not enough, she is also an instructional coach for BetterLesson.

The honor she has garnered from the NTHF is not the only recognition Monica has received. She was selected the Texas State Teacher of The Year in 2014. The same year, she garnered the Ermalee Boice Instructional Advocacy Award and an NAACP Special Achievement Award. In 2015, she was named a Lowell Milken Center Unsung Hero Fellow. The same year she was selected as a NEA Foundation Global Fellow and travelled to Peru to study the educational system there. In 2022, she was selected a Voices for Honest Education Fellow. In this role, Monica

Monica earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from LeMoyne-Owen College in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in English from the University of Memphis in 2003. She completed the requirements for a degree as a Specialist in Education from Walden University in 2019.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia in 1989 to honor outstanding educators through a recognition program and museum. Nominees must be certificated public or non-public school teachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades pre K-12. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 145 educators from 40 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. To learn more about the program, click on this link to the NTHF.

 

Brittany Bonnaffons named Louisiana’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Louisiana math teacher Brittany Bonnaffons has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: St. Charles Herald Guide

It is always my pleasure to shine a spotlight on outstanding educators who have earned accolades for their work in the profession. One of these is Brittany Bonnaffons, a secondary mathematics teacher from Luling, Louisiana. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Brittany teaches Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 at Hahnville High School in the St. Charles Parish Public School District. In a career that has spanned 12 years, she has taught at Hahnville for five years. Her teaching philosophy is that mathematics teaches students reasoning, problem-solving skills, and perseverance, while working collaboratively teaches them the importance of being able to work well with others. Under her guidance, her students, who before entering her classroom had not scored satisfactorily on their middle school standardized tests, have improved their scores by leaps and bounds. “My goal is to bring out the best in students,” asserts Brittany. “Yes, I want to teach them math, but I also want to teach them how to find their gifts and use those gifts to make a difference,” she continues. “Making a difference requires making connections with students and to help other teachers do the same. We are all better together,” she concludes.

Not only does Brittany teach math, but she also serves as the Head Coach for her school’s boys and girls track team. Since she accepted the position in 2018, her athletes have captured four District team championships and have placed as regional runner-ups twice. In addition, she has led more than 50 individuals to District medals, more than 30 individuals to regional medals, and more than 10 athletes to state medals.

In addition to her selection as Louisiana’s State Teacher of the Year, Brittany was selected as one of 22 educators from across the state to serve on the Louisiana Department of Education 2022-2023 Teacher Advisory Council.

Brittany earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University. She earned her Master’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of Louisiana, Monroe, and a second Master’s in Teaching from Northwestern University.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to an article about her published by Louisiana Life.

 

Louise Archer taught in a segregated, rural one-room schoolhouse

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North Carolina teacher Louise Archer taught core academic subjects and life skills in a segregated rural one-room schoolhouse. Photo Credit: Louise Archer Elementary School

Our nation’s students are indeed fortunate to have so many dedicated and hardworking educators teaching in our public schools. One of these was Louise Archer, an elementary school teacher from North Carolina.

Louise was born on Oct. 23, 1893, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As a young woman, she attended Livingston College, a historically Black Christian college located in Salisbury, North Carolina. She married Romulus Archer, Jr., in 1915. The couple relocated to Washington, DC, in 1922, and Louise continued her education at Morgan State College, a historically Black college in nearby Baltimore, Maryland. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree.

Louise inaugurated her career as an educator at the Oak Grove School in Southampton, Virginia, in a one-room schoolhouse for African American children. She taught there two years. In 1924, she became both the teacher and the principal for another one-room segregated school, the Vienna Colored School, located in Vienna, Virginia. The camped, unheated facility was the first in Fairfax County to educate African American students in fifth through seventh grades. For many, this was the only education they would receive.

The first boys who were the first to arrive at the rural school each morning chopped wood for the fire to keep the schoolhouse warm. Students brought water each day from a nearby spring and stored it in buckets in one corner of the classroom. Louise taught her students using tattered, secondhand textbooks, but she supplemented these with lessons in music and poetry. In addition, she taught her students life skills such as cooking, sewing, embroidery, cabinet-making, and rug-hooking.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Louise established a 4-H Club for African Americans in Fairfax County. Through this club, her students planted a garden and raised vegetables to add to a soup that was cooked each day on a potbelly stove.

By all accounts Louise was devoted to her young charges. For example, if they needed help getting to school, she drove them to the schoolhouse herself. She invited students to her home in Washington, DC, so they could experience a big city, and she let students use her home address when they enrolled in a DC high school so they could continue their education without paying expensive tuition fees.

Later in her career, Louise organized a Parent Teacher Association to raise money to buy much-needed classroom supplies. The group also raised money to construct a new schoolhouse, this one with three rooms, which opened in 1939. In 1941, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to pay for electric lighting, a music teacher, kitchen supplies, and bus transportation for the students.

Sadly, Louise suffered a heart attack and passed on April 1, 1948. In 1950, her school was renamed the Louise Archer Elementary School in her honor.

Teacher Michelle Young appears on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette

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Former elementary school teacher Michelle Young has become prominent in the public eye for her appearances on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Photo Credit: Bachelor Nation

Many fine classroom teachers also find themselves prominent in the public eye for their appearances on television. One of these is Michelle Anne Young, a former elementary school teacher who has appeared on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

Michelle was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, on June 3, 1993. She was raised in the nearby town of Woodbury, where she attended public schools. As a high school student, Michelle was a star basketball player at Woodbury High. In fact, she was named the Most Valuable Player by the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Team, and she became a finalist for Minnesota’s Miss Basketball.

After her high school graduation, Michelle attended Bradley University on an athletic scholarship. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Bradley in 2015. While there, she played Division 1 basketball and was named a Two-Time First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete.

Michelle inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a fourth grade teacher at Normandale Hills Elementary School in Bloomington, Minnesota. In her last teaching position, she taught fifth grade at Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville, Minnesota.

The popular teacher earned nationwide attention in 2021 for her appearances on reality television. During her appearances, Michelle shared her experiences teaching during the pandemic and during the protests following the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “I’m able to go to work and know that I’m making a difference,” she asserted. “Some days it doesn’t feel like that when you get home,” she continued. “It’s been a very difficult year for my students, especially my students of color,” she concluded.

In 2021, Michelle appeared in the 25th season of the reality show The Bachelor, where she rose to runner-up position. That same year, she became a contestant on the 18th season of the reality show The Bachelorette. She also appeared on episodes of the talk shows Live with Kelly and Ryan, Entertainment Tonight, three broadcasts of Good Morning America, and as a presenter at the American Music Awards.

After these appearances, which Michelle described as exhausting, she announced she was taking a break from the classroom for at least one year. But some day, she says, she may return to the profession.

Teacher, civic leader, and suffragist Clara Byrd Baker

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Clara Byrd Baker

Elementary school teacher Clara Byrd Baker of Virginia worked tirelessly to improve social conditions in her community as a civic leader and suffragist.

There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who have worked tirelessly to improve social conditions in their community. One of these is Clara Byrd Baker, an elementary school teacher from Virginia who has earned a reputation as an outstanding civic leader and suffragette.

Clara was born on June 22, 1886, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her parents were Charles and Malvina Carey Byrd. As a young woman, Clara enrolled in Hampton Institute. She also attended Virginia State College for Negroes, now known as Virginia State College, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education. She was only 16 years old at the time.

After earning her degree, Clara launched her career as an educator in 1902 when she accepted a position as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in James City County, Virginia. In 1920, she became a teacher at a public training school for African American students. Later, she joined the faculty at Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg. After a career in the classroom that spanned an amazing 50 years, Clara retired in 1952.

Throughout her life, even during the years she taught school, Clara served as a leader in Williamsburg’s African American community. She worked to expand educational opportunities for students, to improve inter-racial relations, and to secure the vote for women. In fact, after the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, Clara became the first woman in Williamsburg to vote.

For her efforts, Clara earned numerous accolades. In 2007, she was honored by the Virginia State Library and Archives as an African American Trailblazer. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation recognized her achievements in 2011. The Virginia State University Alumni Association gave her a Meritorious Service Award and named her their Alumni of the Year. In 1989, a newly-built elementary school in Williamsburg was named in her honor.

Clara Baker Byrd passed away on October 20, 1979, at the age of 93. She is interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Williamsburg.