Tag Archives: Athletic Coaches

Legendary girls’ basketball coach and PE teacher Dorothy Gaters garners many honors

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Girls’ basketball coach and physical education teacher Dorothy Gaters is legendary in Chicago, Illinois. Photo credit: Chicago History Museum

As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we pay homage to Dorothy Gaters, a legendary girls’ basketball coach and physical education teacher from Illinois. In fact, it has been said that you can’t talk about the history of high school basketball in Illinois without including legendary Coach Gaters in the discussion.

Dorothy taught and coached at her alma mater, John Marshall Metropolitan High School, in Chicago, Illinois. Her career began there at 1976, and spanned 45 years. She concluded her career with 1,153 wins and ten Illinois High School Association state titles. In addition, she served as an Assistant Coach at the US Olympic Festival in 1986, helping the South win a gold medal. After such a long and distinguished career, she retired in 2021, but she still works as the Athletic Director at Marshall High.

Dorothy fondly remembered her days as a student at Marshall fondly, having graduated from there in 1964. “There were 5,000 students here then; now, there are only 200,” she recalls. “There was no girls’ basketball team then, which was years before Title IX, which bans discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance,” she continued. “I didn’t have any real role models,” Dorothy said. “I just watched basketball on TV, but we had a very successful boys team, even when I attended.” And that love of basketball grew. After her graduation from high school, Dorothy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from DePaul University. “When I graduated from college, they asked me to come back here to teach and, shortly after that, there were intramurals—and that’s when I started to learn about the game,” she explains.

For her work as a coach, Dorothy has garnered many honors. She was selected as Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association seven times, and she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the National High School Hall of Fame in 2018. She was also named a recipient of the National Student-Athlete Day Giant Steps Award in 1998. Furthermore, the gymnasium at Marshall High has been named in her honor.

Dorothy Gaters: A true Chalkboard Champion.

Elise Boutin named Louisiana’s 2025 State Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Elise Boutin of Louisiana has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: The Acadiana Advocate

It is always my pleasure to share the news that an exceptional educator has received recognition for their work with young people in America’s public classrooms. Today, I am pleased to announce that Elise Boutin, an English teacher from Louisiana, has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Elise teaches seniors at Rayne High School in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. She also serves as the school’s Interact Club Advisor and the Cross Country coach. In a career that spans 14 years, she has spent the last 10 of them at Rayne. Prior to her service at the high school, she taught at the junior high school level.

As part of her work at Rayne, Elise resurrected the Rayne, Alive! program, a student-produced YouTube channel. The program has become an important part of the school’s culture. While producing this program, Elise’s students have worked with crews from news stations in Lafayette, and they have even met celebrities and enlisted their aid in creating introductions for episodes of the show. 

Elise says the secret of her success in the classroom is to be real. “I’m authentically myself, and then I give permission for them to be themselves, and I feel like that’s kind of the most unique thing about me,” Elise says. “I really do encourage my students to find their voice and be themselves and not fit a mold of any kind.”

In addition to her Teacher of the Year honors, Elise has been named this year’s recipient of the Norma Hunt Super Bowl Champion of Education award, which includes two tickets to this year’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Elise earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2009. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from McNeese State University in 2013. In addition, she is working on a graduate certificate in professional writing at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette.
 

ID math teacher Marcus Ross garners Milken Educator Award

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Junior high school mathematics teacher Marcus Ross of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, garners a prestigious Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Milken Educator Awards

There are many outstanding educators working in our nation’s schools who are deserving of recognition. One of these is Marcus Ross, a junior high school teacher from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He has garnered a prestigious 2024-2025 Milken Educator Award.

Marcus teaches mathematics to eighth graders at Lakes Middle School in Coeur d’Alene. hands-on instructional techniques, Ross tailors his lessons to meet each student’s individual needs. This amazing educator has a reputation for injecting energy into his curriculum by adapting word problems to stimulate student interest and using YouTube videos to simulate the steps to solve them. For a statistics unit, Marcus enlisted the aide of colleagues to role-play suspects in a mystery game that rewarded students with a clue each time they mastered a math concept. 

In addition, Marcus coaches cross-country, boys’ basketball, and track. He serves as an advisor for the campus  Kind Club, which organizes a “Drive by Kindness” event where students and parents are greeted cheerfully while arriving to school. And as if all that were not enough, he mentors and supports fifth graders at a nearby elementary school.

Early in his career, Marcus established himself as an instructional leader. He is a presenter for Lakes’ Deeper Learning Institute, and he serves on the PLC Guiding Coalition and the District Math Academy. Marcus also serves as a model educator in the Lab Host Network, where his classroom is open for observation by more than 100 teachers across several states and by the Idaho Department of Education. This year, Marcus is advancing his own professional development by completing an internship in administration. 

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to a $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 3,000 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education. To learn more about the program, click on their website at Milken Educator Awards.

Taylor Bussinger named the 2024 Kansas State Teacher of the Year

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Social Studies teacher and coach Taylor Bussinger of Olathe, Kansas, has been named the 2024 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Olathe Reporter

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for his work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Taylor Bussinger, a middle school teacher who has been named the 2024 Kansas State Teacher of the Year.

Taylor teachers US History and Leadership courses to eighth graders at Prairie Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas. In addition to his teaching duties, Bussinger serves as the Head Boys Basketball Coach, the Head Cross Country Coach, and the co-founder and sponsor of the school’s Diversity Council. His career as an educator spans ten years.

The honored educator has a strong philosophy about education. “My job is not necessarily teaching history, but putting kids in a position where they’re doing the work of a historian, considering a topic and looking at it from multiple perspectives,” explains Taylor.

Taylor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Social Studies from the University of Kansas in 2014. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas in 2018. In addition to his selection as the Kansas State Teacher of the Year, he was named a Horizon Award nominee in 2015 and he won an Educator Excellence Award in 20I8.

As the Kansas State Teacher of the Year, Taylor garnered a $4,000 cash award; the Kansas Teacher of the Year Lifelong Learning Scholarship to attend participating universities free of charge during his duration of teaching in Kansas; a Jostens “Leader in Education ring.” For the next year, he will travel around the state to advocate for education and provide professional development for his fellow teachers.

To read more about Taylor Bussinger, click on this link to an article about him published by The Kansas City Star.

 

DE educator Anthony Swierzbinski garners 2024 History Teacher Award

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Middle school Social Studies educator Anthony Swierzbinski has been honored as the 2024 Delaware History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute. Photo Credit: The John Dickinson School

I am always excited to share the news that an outstanding educator has earned recognition for their work with young people. Today, I share the news that middle school teacher Anthony Swierzbinski has been honored as the 2024 Delaware History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional elementary through high school teachers who have made an outstanding contribution to American history education.

Anthony teaches at The John Dickinson School, a comprehensive secondary school for grades 6—12 located in the Pike Creek area of suburban Wilmington, Delaware. The school offers a focus on the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Dickinson is named for one of the nation’s founding fathers and a signer of the US Constitution.

Anthony, who is often called “Mr. Swiz” by his students and colleagues, has been teaching at Dickinson since 2009. In the past, he has instructed courses Civics and Economics in high school. Currently, he teaches 6th and 8th grade Social Studies in the middle years program (MYP). In addition, Anthony has served as the cross country and the track and field coach for the middle school. In the eight years he as served in these roles, Anthony has developed one of the most competitive middle school running programs in the state with multiple individual and team titles. As the Head Coach of the Dickinson Ram MYP teams, Coach Swiz emphasizes the values of hard work, good sportsmanship, having a positive attitude, making healthy lifestyle choices, and “doing the right thing.”

As the winner of the 2024 National History Teacher of the Year Award, Anthony will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a specially-currated collection of classroom resources.