Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Colorado kindergarten teacher Fatima Stansell crowned in 2025 Ms. Black Colorado pageant

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Colorado Springs kindergarten teacher Fatima Stansell has taken the crown in the 2025 Ms. Black Colorado pageant.  Photo credit: Colorado Education Association

We know our public school teachers are hardworking, dedicated, and creative professionals. They are royalty in the classroom! But occasionally one of them also earns a genuine title. This is true of Fatima Stansell, a kindergarten teacher from Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Ms. Black Colorado pageant!

Fatima teaches at John Adams Elementary School, a Title 1 school. As a kindergarten teacher there, Fatima understands the extreme importance of early literacy. Many of her students start school without basic reading skills, she says. In addition, she is passionate about creating inclusive, supportive spaces for her students.

Actively promoting literacy in her community, Fatima hosts literacy hours at local libraries, works on book drives, and creates videos to teach parents how to help their children read. “Reading truly is fundamental, and I am committed to making a lasting impact,” she declares.

Fatima became inspired to go into the teaching profession while working with young children in her family’s daycare business. She continued to work with youngsters through local parks and recreation programs. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in 2024, graduating magna cum laude. She has credentials in Special Education (SPED) and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLD).

The neophyte teacher decided to enter the beauty pageant because she wanted to be an inspiration to her daughters and to show the importance of women of color in leadership roles. The Ms. Black Colorado Springs competition was her first pageant. For her platform, Fatima chose Bridging the Literacy Gap. She was crowned in June 2024, and then went on to earn the state title in October. The competition included formal wear, interviews, fitness rounds, and a social impact presentation.

Educator Betty Dean Anderson was also a Councilwoman and civic leader

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California science teacher and administrator  Betty Dean Anderson also served her community as a San Bernardino City Councilwoman and civic leader. Photo credit: Press Enterprise

Many outstanding educators also serve their communities diligently as community leaders and volunteers. One of these is Betty Dean Anderson, a science teacher, administrator, and leading figure who lived in San Bernardino, California.

Betty was born on Nov. 2, 1930, in Shreveport, Louisiana, the youngest of six children. As a young woman, she earned her degree in Biology  from Wiley College located in Marshall, Texas.

As soon as Betty earned her college degree, she inaugurated her career in education as a Biology teacher at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California. Eventually, she became a respected administrator, earning a reputation among her colleagues as an individual of fairness, intelligence, and commitment to students.

Betty also served her community as an elected Councilwoman for San Bernardino City, representing the 6th Ward. While in office, the retired educator championed affordable housing, job training for young people, and economic development that revitalized underserved neighborhoods.

In addition to her responsibilities as an educator and civic leader, Betty co-founded the Swans Club, a debutante program that has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to young African American women and provided hours of service to non-profit organizations within the Inland Empire. Betty was also involved with the San Bernardino Valley Chapter of The Links, Inc., an organization that creates career pathways for young women and sponsors cultural opportunities within the Inland Empire. She also served on several civic and nonprofit boards and mentored generations of community leaders. Furthermore, Betty served as a volunteer usher for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games that were held in Los Angeles. One of the highlights of her life was when she was able to attend both inaugurations of President Barack Obama as a guest of Rep. Joe Baca.

Sadly, Betty Dean Anderson passed away in 2025. She was 94 years of age.

 

NYC dance teacher Veronica Cheeseboro garners Big Apple Award

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High school dance teacher Veronica Cheeseboro has garnered a 20024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Education. Photo credit: The Riverdale Press

I always get excited when I can share the story of an exceptional teacher who has earned accolades for her work with young people in our nation’s public schools. Today I share the story of Veronica Cheeseboro, a high school performing arts teacher from New York City. She has garnered a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from New York City Department of Education.

Veronica teaches dance at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. She has led the dance program there for six years. During those years, Veronica has worked diligently to partner her dance program with Ailey Arts in Education, Merce Cunningham Trust, and Ballet Hispanico Community Arts Partnership. In addition, Veronica serves as the coach for the school’s Step Team and she advises the campus Dance Club.
In her classroom, Veronica includes curriculum covering wellness for freshmen students. The curriculum covers injury prevention and ways to stretch. Her sophomores learn about nutrition, and her juniors and seniors learn anatomy through a study of kinesiology, learning how the body moves as well as the function of muscles, bones, and ligaments as they support dance moves. 

Veronica has also fulfilled a variety of leadership roles within the dance community. She’s facilitated multiple city-wide professional development workshops in hip hop dance for Rutgers University, Broadway Dance Center, and the Office of Arts & Special Projects sponsored by the NYC Department of Education.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Veronica is an active dancer and choreographer. She has performed as a member of NYC-based Contemporary Dance Company: Modarts Dance Collective as a professional dancer for the past four years.

Veronica earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with an Emphasis in Dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, in 2016. She attended the prestigious school on an academic scholarship. She earned her Master’s degree in Dance Education with a K-12 certification from Rutgers University in 2018.

To learn more about Veronica Cheeseboro, click on the following link to visit her website.

VA teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case

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Virginia science teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case. Photo credit: Black Then

Often times teachers are at the forefront of movements that benefit entire groups of people in our society. One of these teachers was educator Aline Black Hicks, a high school science teacher who launched an important civil rights court case about equal pay.

Aline was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 23, 1906. As a young girl, she attended Booker T. Washington High School in her home town. After her graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. The school is known today as Virginia State University. Aline earned her Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1935.

The neophyte educator inaugurated her career as a teacher when she accepted a position at her alma mater, Booker T. Washington, in 1924. She taught science and chemistry. As an African American, she earned only two-thirds the salary earned by a white teacher doing the same job. Although it was later determined to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this was a common practice in that time.

In 1939, Aline filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk School Board, asking that they base teachers’ salaries on experience and education rather than race. She had the backing of the Norfolk Teachers Association, the Virginia State Teachers Association, and the NAACP. One of her attorneys was Thurgood Marshall, who later became an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Aline was fired in retaliation for her lawsuit. Once she was no longer employed by the school district, her case was dismissed. However, her lawyers took the case forward with another local teacher, Melvin O. Alston. Eventually the case went all the way to tour nation’s highest court, where the issue was eventually decided in favor of the African American plaintiffs.

In 1941, the Norfolk School board rehired Aline to teach at the school where she had formerly worked. From 1970 to 1973, she worked at Jacox Junior High School as an Instructional Development Specialist until she retired in 1973.

In 2008, Aline was named a Notable African Americans in Virginia History by the Library of Virginia. In 1971, she garnered the Norfolk “Backbone Award” by the Education Association for her contribution to financial, educational and social equality.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in Norfolk on August 22, 1974. To read more about her, consult this article in Encyclopedia Virginia.

Washington, DC’s Edna Burke Jackson: Educator, author, and activist

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Edna Burke Jackson, an educator, author, and activist from Washington, DC, was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city. Photo credit: The Washington Post

Many talented classroom teaches have also worked diligently to promote the interests of African Americans in our country. One of these was Edna Burke Jackson, an educator and activist from Washington, DC. She was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city.

Edna was born Jan. 25, 1911, in Washington, DC. As a young woman, she attended Dunbar High School, a school for African American students. She graduated in 1928, valedictorian of her class. She then enrolled on a scholarship at Howard University, where she studied Romance languages, especially French, and social studies. There she earned first her Bachelor’s degree, and then her Master’s degree. Later she completed graduate courses at Howard University, Cornell, and Catholic University.

In 1934, Edna relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she accepted a position as a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School. In the six years she taught there, she founded the school’s Language Department and became the Department Chair. In 1940, the veteran educator returned to Washington, DC, where she was hired to teach at Cardozo High School. She worked there until 1954.

In 1954, Edna and colleague Archie Lucas, a chemistry teacher, were hired as the first African American teachers hired to work at the prestigious, all-white Woodrow Wilson High School. The pair were hired even though Wilson High remained segregated, unlike six other public high schools in the city of DC. As one of the only two Black educators on the staff, Edna faced scathing racism from her White colleagues. In 1955, Wilson High finally integrated. At Wilson, Edna taught European and World History.

Edna taught at the school for more than 20 years, until her retirement in 1976. During those years, she advocated for increased enrollment of African American students, and for the inclusion of courses in Black Studies to the curriculum.

In addition to her talents in the classroom, this amazing Chalkboard Champion was also an excellent writer. During the 1930’s, she authored a weekly column in the Oklahoma Eagle, a prominent African American newspaper in Tulsa. From 1959 to 1970, she wrote book reviews for the Journal of Negro History in Washington, DC.

Edna Burke Jackson passed away on Feb. 21, 2004. She was 93 years old. To read more about her, see the obituary published by the Washington Post.