Tag Archives: Business Teachers

Utah teacher Tonya Bryner serves as successful FBLA advisor

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Business Education teacher Tonya Bryner of Salt Lake City, Utah, is recognized as one of the most exceptional FBLA advisors in her state. Photo credit: Hunter High School

I am always eager to share the story of an educator who has earned the respect of the students, colleagues, and parents in her school. Today I shine the spotlight on Tonya Bryner, a Business Education instructor from Utah. In 2021, she earned State Advisor of the Year honors from the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

Currently, Tonya teaches Business Education at Hunter High School in Salt Lake City. She has taught there for three years. Prior to working at Hunter, she taught for three years at Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah, and for five years before that she taught at the junior high school level in the Granite School District of West Valley City, Utah. Before she entered the teaching profession, Tonya served as a missionary for her church, traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa, to complete community service projects.

Tonya’s work as a Business Education teacher is of vital importance to students. Business education courses provide students with the academic and technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners. Across the nation, about 12 million high school and college students are enrolled in business courses.

As an FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) advisor, Tonya has coached her team to state competitions. Two of her students have even earned first place awards at the state level. During the state and national FBLA Jeopardy competition, her team garnered a first place trophy. She has also earned the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit every year that she has been an FBLA advisor. In addition to her work as Ann FBLA advisor, in 2023, she served as a presenter at the Career Technical Education (CTE) Summer Conference.

Tonya earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education in 1989 and her Master’s degree in Management Information Systems in 2008, both from Utah State University.

Business Ed educator Megan Wald named a finalist for ND 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Business education teacher Megan Wald was named one of four finalists for 2023 North Dakota Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Valley City State University

I always enjoy sharing the story of an exceptional educator. One of these is Megan Wald, a business education teacher from North Dakota. She was selected as Emmons County’s Teacher of he Year last May, and she has been named one of four finalists selected to compete for the title of 2023 North Dakota Teacher of the Year.

Megan teaches Business Education courses at Linton High School in Linton, an unincorporated community located in Emmons County, North Dakota. She is also an adjunct business teacher for the North Dakota Center for Distance Education in Fargo. Her career as an educator has spanned 15 years.

For Megan, her work as an educator is never a nine-to-five job. “You have to be passionate about the work that you do and know what your goal is,” she asserts. And she definitely knows what her goal is. “My philosophy is definitely preparing students for work outside of high school. Giving them career readiness skills is one of my top priorities,” she declares.

Megan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education and Marketing from Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota, in 2008.

Congratulations, Megan!

High school educator Kathleen MacDonald honored in Santa Clara, CA

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Former high school business teacher and vice principal Kathleen MacDonald was named as the Grand Marshall of the annual Parade of Champions in Santa Clara, California, October, 2022.  Photo Credit: DKG

It is always a pleasure to share stories of exceptional educators. One of these is Kathleen MacDonald, a former high school business teacher and Vice Principal from Santa Clara, California.

In 1964, Kathleen accepted a position as a business and typing teacher at Adrian C. Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, California. She served in this position until 1993, when she became the school’s Activities Director. In 1995, she was promoted to Vice Principal of Student Activities.

Kathleen is obviously beloved by her students, even the ones who had already graduated. “Mrs. MacDonald fosters an environment where students can intellectually and socially mature,” declares former student Heather Narciso. “She deals with the most unique and dynamic personalities of Wilcox and is committed to helping students succeed in every facet of their lives,” Narciso continues. “Every student has different leadership skills, but when you graduate, you know you’re the best leader that you can be—thanks to Mrs. MacDonald,” she concluded.

“Mrs. MacDonald offered me endless support when I was in high school, but what really makes her stand out is the time she invests in her students’ lives after they graduate,” said Narciso. “She keeps track of her former students and genuinely cares about their future and lives in the real world.”

Kathleen was inducted into the Delta Rho Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International in 1984, a prestigious organization for women educators. She served her chapter as their Scholarship Chair for many years.

For her many years of dedication as an educator, Kathleen has earned many accolades. In 2011, she was honored by the San Francisco 49ers and Symetra Financial as one of their “Hero in the Classroom” winners. On Oct. 1, 2022, Kathleen served as the Grand Marshal for the annual Parade of Champions in Santa Clara. Two weeks later, this Chalkboard Champion was honored when the Santa Clara Unified School District, to whom she has dedicated nearly 60 years of her professional life, opened a brand new high school christened Kathleen MacDonald High School in her honor. To learn more about this auspicious day, click here.

Teacher, coach, and Columbine hero Dave Sanders

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Dave Sanders

Author Terry Lee Marzell examines plaque honoring slain educator Dave Sanders at the Columbine Memorial in Littleton, Colorado. Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

While visiting the Denver area in 2018, I had the unique opportunity to visit the Columbine Memorial which honors the innocent lives lost in the Columbine High School massacre. There I paid homage to Dave Sanders, a truly heroic teacher who lost his life during the shooting.

Dave was born on October 22, 1951, in Eldorado, Saline County, Illinois. He was the youngest of five children. Sadly, his father passed away when Dave was only four years old. Following his father’s death, the young boy was raised by his widowed mother in Newtown, Indiana.

Even as a youngster, Dave excelled at athletics. Known for being a consistent and dependable player, he participated in basketball, baseball, and cross country. After his 1969 graduation from Fountain Central High School in Veedersburg, Dave enrolled at Nebraska Western Junior College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where he earned his Associate’s Degree. He then transferred to Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Chadron in 1974.

That same year, Dave accepted his first teaching position at Columbine High School in an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, near the Denver suburb of Littleon. There he taught business classes, including typing, keyboarding, business, business law, and economics. He also worked with other teachers in the Business Department to organize career days and arrange for guest speakers to visit classes.

Dave Sanders

Chalkboard Hero, teacher, and coach Dave Sanders. Image  courtesy of Conie Sanders

But it was as a coach that Dave truly excelled. Early in his career he coached boys’ baseball, basketball, cross country, and soccer. In his later years, he coached girls’ basketball, softball, and track. In 1995, Dave’s girls’ softball team reached the Class 5A state finals, and the same year, his girls’ basketball team qualified for a coveted berth in the annual Sweet 16 Tournament. “His ability to coach was not so much about his ability to do the sport, but about his ability to analyze the mechanics of the sport, the kinesiology of it,” colleague Joe Marshall once described. “It didn’t matter what he coached. He coached kids, he didn’t coach a sport. He truly devoted himself to the athletes,” Joe continued. In addition to his coaching responsibilities for Columbine, Dave and his colleague, Rick Bath, coached basketball camps, softball tournaments, open batting cage sessions, and a B league girls’ softball program during the summers.

Dave’s career as a teacher and coach spanned 25 years. Tragically, this outstanding educator and coach was shot and killed on April 20, 1999, when two students carried out a mass shooting at Columbine High School. During the massacre, the intrepid teacher organized an evacuation of the area, led a group of approximately 200 students to safety, and warned unsuspecting teachers and students in other classrooms of the danger. He is credited with saving at least 200 lives that fateful day before he succumbed from his gunshot wounds.

For his heroism, Dave Sanders was honored in 1999 with the ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. The same year, he was recognized by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports with the Giant Steps Award for Male Coach. You can read more about him in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes.

Jacobie Bluhm engages students with nerdy quotes and hip-hop

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Digital media teacher Jacobie Bluhm from San Jacinto High School in Southern California engages his students with nerdy quotes and hip-hop dance moves. Photo credit: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Many talented educators use unique and unusual teaching methods to reach their students. One of these is Jacobie Bluhm, a digital media teacher from San Jacinto High School in Southern California. He engages his students with nerdy quotes from Star Wars and hip-hop dance moves.

One of Jacobie’s favorite Star Wars quotes is Yoda’s “Do or do not. There is no try.” After he printed the quote on his syllabus at the beginning of the school year, his students called him a nerd. Before long, though, the students admitted that their teacher was teaching them that the key to success in their learning was increased effort.

Jacobite guides his students in real-world assignments, including web design and creating content for the school’s website. “They are not just turning in something for the teacher to look at. They are putting out something for the website.” says Jacobie’s colleague Jeremy Murphy. He says this level of engagement is a big deal to students. “Engagement is a big deal,” says Murphy, “to keep kids interested and also keep expectations at a level where they are continually growing.” And, Murphy continues, Jacobie brings a lot of energy to his approach to teaching.

“My teaching style is a bit different,” admitted Jacobie. “I’m very open and honest. And I feel that that is the best trait that teachers can have,” he continued.

In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Jacobie teaches hip-hop dance after school as part of the Murrieta Dance Project. There he puts his kids at ease while simultaneously challenging them to be their best. His goal to help his dancers find and develop confidence. “There’s a spark in them that they won’t let be contained,” he asserts.