Tag Archives: Career/Technical Ed Teachers

Tennessee CTE teacher Jerry Webb nominated for 2025-2026 LifeChanger of the Year Award

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Career and Technical Education teacher (CTE) Jerry Webb of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been nominated for a 2025-2026 LifeChanger of the Year Award. Photo credit: National Life Group

I am always excited to share the news that a hardworking educator has earned accolades for the work they do in our nation’s classrooms. Today, I share the news that Jerry Webb, a teacher in Chattanooga, Tennessee. has been named one of 74 nominees for the 2025-2026 LifeChanger of the Year Award distributed by the National Life Group.

The prestigious LifeChanger of the Year Award recognizes educators who exemplify excellence, leadership, and positive influence in their school community. The winner of the award will garner a $20,000 grand prize, to be shared with the school, and several smaller cash prizes.

Jerry teaches Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses at IVY Academy, a tuition-free, public charter middle and high school located in Chattanooga. There he teaches in the Next Generation Sustainable Living (NGSL) program. The goal of the program is to inspire students to improve the lives of others, and to develop the skills they need to accomplish this. Some of the projects Jerry organizes include leading his students to design solar-powered systems, build off-grid tiny homes, and create solar backpacks.

“One of the most powerful experiences in my career has been traveling with students to Honduras, where we installed a solar-powered computer lab in a community that had never known electricity,” Jerry remembers. “Watching my students place a computer mouse into the hands of a child who had never touched technology, watching them power up a room full of possibilities, was life-shifting. My students came home different. They came home wiser. They came home understanding the weight and worth of what they can do,” he continued.

In addition to teaching these courses, Jerry serves as the coach for the Ivy Academy EV Racing Team. The participants on this team design, build, and race electric vehicles as part of a hands-on program that teaches engineering, renewable energy, teamwork, and innovation.

Jerry’s career as an educator spans 21 years. To learn more about this remarkable educator, click on this link to an article written about him published by the National Life Group.

 

 

Former NFL player Cory Schlesinger now teaches in Michigan

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Former NFL pro football player Cory Schlesinger now teaches technical education and vocational education  in Park Allen, Michigan. Photo credit: In-Play Sports Magazine

There are many examples of professional athletes who have gone from the sports arena into the public school classroom. One of these is Cory Schlesinger, a former NFL pro football player who now teaches high school in Michigan.

Cory was born on June 23, 1972, in Columbus, Nebraska. As a high school student, he played as a linebacker and fullback for Columbus High School. In his junior year, and again in his senior year, he was named to Nebraska’s All-State team. He also won the 189-pound wrestling state championship twice during his high school years. During his college years, Cory played for the Cornhuskers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In his senior year there, Cory scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the 1995 Orange Bowl that helped his university capture their first national title.

Cory currently teaches computer-aided design, drafting, and vocational education classes at Allen Park High School in Allen Park, Michigan. But every one of the 120 students in his classes is well aware that Cory is a retired NFL fullback who played 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. His nickname then was the “Sledge,” a player who blocked his opponents and brought them down like a sledge hammer.

Despite this reputation, the former pro-football player has a great heart, patiently instructing his students, conducting a school-wide strength and conditioning program for both boys and girls, and donating his time to charitable events organized by the Lions. “Cory’s such a generous, kind and wonderful person,” described former Allen Park High  principal Janet Wasko in 2013. “He doesn’t stand on ceremony, but everyone knows who he is. He cares about the whole student body. It’s not just about football,” she said.

Cory Schlesinger: the “sledge hammer” that became a true Chalkboard Champion.