Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

NM teacher and children’s book author Ann Nolan Clark

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New Mexico teacher Ann Nolan Clark earned acclaim as an author of children’s books for Native American students. Photo credit: Alchetron

Throughout our country’s history, there have been many examples of dedicated educators who have worked with underprivileged student populations. One such teacher was Ann Nolan Clark.

Ann Clark was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on December 5, 1896. When she was 21, she graduated from New Mexico Normal School, known today as New Mexico Highlands University, located in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

After her college graduation, Ann inaugurated her teaching career as a professor of English at Highlands University. But the young educator wanted to work with younger students. In 1923,  she accepted a position teaching reading to Native American children in a one-room schoolhouse at the Black Rock School in Zuni. Later she taught in a school at Tesuque. Little did she know that this position would last 25 years.

While teaching in the Indian schools, Ann observed that the Native American children learned more easily when their primers were geared towards their own life experiences, so she began writing primers with characters and situations that honored the the Pueblo way of life. Many of these primers were later published by mainstream publishing companies. Eventually, Ann broadened her scope and wrote children’s books with Navajo, Sioux, Finnish, and Hispanic characters. In addition to these stories, the prolific teacher also published a number of professional articles under the pseudonym Marie Dunne.

Between 1940 and 1951, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs published fifteen of Ann’s books. Her book In My Mother’s House, illustrated by Pueblo artist Velino Herrera, earned a Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1942. During the 1940s, Ann also wrote multi-cultural books for the Haskell Foundation and the Haskell Indian Nations University at Lawrence, Kansas. One of them was The Slim Butte Raccoon, illustrated by Andrew Standing Soldier.

In 1945, the Institute for Inter-American Affairs funded an educational trip for Ann to travel to Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Her experiences on this trip led her to write such books as Magic Money, Looking-for-Something, and Secret of the Andes, which garnered her the 1953 Newberry Medal. Ann earned other awards as well. She was given the Distinguished Service Award by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1962, and the Regina Medial by the Catholic Library Association in 1963.

This remarkable educator passed away on December 13, 1995. During her lifetime, she published over forty books, 31 of them about Native American culture.

Idaho teacher Dr. Kellie Taylor garners 2022 AIAA STEM Educator Award

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Dr. Kellie Taylor, a teacher from Boise, Idaho, has earned a coveted 2022 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award from the Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Photo credit: Idaho News

Many hardworking educators earn accolades for their create innovative STEM programs. One of these is Dr. Kellie Taylor, an elementary school teacher from Idaho whose innovative curriculum garnered her a coveted 2022 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award from the Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This annual award celebrates five K-12 educators from around the country who have gone above and beyond to nurture the next generation of innovators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Kellie teaches second and third graders in the Gifted and Talented program at Hawthorne Elementary in Boise. During her entire 19-year career, the honored educator has prioritized STEM subjects in her classroom. She emphasizes project-based learning with a strong focus on coding, robotics, space education, and hands-on learning. In addition, she leads STEM curriculum development, hosts STEM-focused after-school activities, and shares her passion for STEM education by leading professional development workshops for her colleagues.

Kellie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2004, her Master’s degree in Educational Technology in 2006, and her PhD in Educational Technology in 2016, all from Boise State University. In addition to her Trailblazing honors, she was also selected an Albert Einstein distinguished Educator Fellow in 2019. In this role, she collaborated with the Educational Outreach program of the Library of Congress. She has also worked for three years as a STEM Master Teacher at the Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

As part of her AAIA award, Kellie received $5,000, and an additional $5,000 went to her school. In addition, she received free access to Challenger Center STEM programming, which supplements classroom lessons through Earth and space-themed journeys. The programming includes hands-on, simulated learning experiences; Center Missions delivered at Challenger Learning Centers around the globe; Virtual Missions delivered by Challenger Learning Center Flight Directors; and digital experiences delivered by teachers in their classrooms. To learn more about the Trailblazer Award, click on this link to AIAA.

Sp Ed teacher Christine Galvan-Manzello earns NYC 2023 Big Apple Award

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Elementary Special Education teacher Christine Galvan-Manzello has earned a 2023 New York City Big Apple Award. Photo credit: New York City Public Schools

The city of New York is very proud of their public school teachers. In fact, city educational leaders regularly recognize exceptional teachers with their annual Big Apple Award. In 2023, one of the educators so honored was Christine Galvin-Manzello, a Special Education teacher from Queens.

Christine works with fifth graders in an Autism Spectrum Disorder program at PS 91 Richard Arkwright. In her classroom, she supports her students’ academic and social-emotional needs to foster their growth as learners and citizens. And she works diligently to make her classroom very safe and very personal. ”I try to connect with them on a personal level,” the honored teacher explains. “I am good at cracking jokes. I get messages from parents —they are so happy to be going to school every day,” Christine continues. “I try to make them believe they can be anything they set their mind to. I love celebrating small moments with each other,” she asserts.

Christine honors the special gifts of her students. She encourages them to take part in school community activities such as student government, debate, and music programs, which help build confidence and leadership skills.

In addition to her work with students, Christine contributes to the school community through her weekly case conferences with teachers, paraprofessionals, and service providers and by facilitating meetings with school staff members and families about how to best support students with ASD. She also conducts professional development for her school community.

The Big Apple Award was presented to 20 New York City teachers. Each one was nominated by their principal for work in the profession that inspires students, models great teaching, and enriches school communities. The recipients were chosen through a rigorous selection process that includes community nominations, principal recommendations, classroom visits, an interview, and a review by a board of judges. To learn more about the program and this year’s recipients, click on this link to Big Apple Awards.

Sarah Lancaster named Minnesota’s first AAPI Teacher of the Year

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Elementary teacher Sarah Lancaster of Onamia, Minnesota, is the first educator of Asian Pacific Islander descent to be named her state’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Brainerd Dispatch

It is always my pleasure to shine a spotlight on exemplary educators who have earned honors for their work with young people. Today, the spotlight falls on Sarah Lancaster, an elementary school teacher from Onamia, Minnesota. She was selected 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year for the state of Minnesota. Sarah is the first educator of Asian Pacific Islander descent to earn the honor.

Sarah teaches first graders in Onamia Public Schools District #480. Her career there spans ten years. This hardworking educator believes in the power of strong relationships and the importance of building connections with her students. Her teaching philosophy is student-centered, and emphasizes communication, consistency, and transparency. Teaching in a rural area has taught her the importance of culture and tradition, and recognizing a student’s individuality and identity. She makes every effort to connect not only with her students, but also with their families.

As a native-born resident of her home town, Sarah feels a strong sense of connection and dedication to her community. She seizes every opportunity to give back, including coaching over 20 seasons of athletics and arts programs, directing three of the annual high school musicals, and volunteering with local youth groups. She also serves as President of the Onamia Area Civic Association.

In addition, Sarah, who is half Filipino, has become more active in advocacy for an increase in persons of color in professions such as teaching. This representation can help more students overcome the things that are holding them back as students, she believes. “I can’t tell you the last time I saw a teacher of color as a speaker or panel member at a teacher conference,” Sarah says. She wants to change that.

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Saint Cloud State University in 2013. In 2020, she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Curriculum Instruction and Design from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Teacher Clara Comstock helped orphan children find homes

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Clara Comstock

Teacher Clara Comstock, second from right, with a colleague and a group of orphan children she escorted on an Orphan Train. Over the course of her career, Clara helped place more than 12,000 orphans into loving homes. Circa 1910. Photo credit: Children’s Aid Society, New York

Throughout our country’s history there are many examples of dedicated educators going above and beyond in order to help young students, both inside the classroom and in their personal lives. One of these was Clara Comstock, a hardworking teacher from New York who helped placed more than 12,000 orphan children into loving homes.

Clara was born on July 5, 1879, in Hartsville, New York, the daughter of hardy pioneer stock. Her father was a farmer and blacksmith. As a young girl, Clara was educated at the Canisteo Academy in the neighboring town of Canisteo, New York. She graduated in 1895 at the age of 16 and spent the next several years completing her teacher training courses.

Clara inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1903 at the Brace Memorial Farm School in Valhalla, New York. Her students were New York City “street Arabs,” homeless boys that were orphaned, abandoned, or removed from their homes because their parents were deemed unfit or unable to adequately care form them. At the Farm School, these kids were taught fundamental literacy skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, some vocational training, including carpentry, shoe-making, and box-making.

After a few years, in order to be of greater service to homeless kids, Clara accepted a position with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists today to benefit needy children. The CAS organized the famous Orphan Trains, small groups of children that were transported west and placed in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. Clara escorted many of these groups, conducted background checks on prospective foster parents, and made periodic checks on the children she placed. She did this work until her retirement in 1928, then she spent another two decades working for the CAS in-state foster care program.

During her lifetime, Clara placed more than 12,000 homeless children in homes, painstakingly keeping track of each one of them until they reached adulthood. She kept a personal diary and filled several trunks with meticulous records of the children she worked with. Decades later, these records became invaluable resources for Orphan Train riders who were seeking information about their origins.

You can read more about this amazing and dedicated teacher and the orphan train system in my book Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon.