Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Colorado teacher Cara Mentzel authors book with sister Idina Menzel

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Anyone who works with kids surely knows the actress and singer Idina Menzel. Her Tony award-winning Broadway roles include Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen Johnson in Rent. Her blockbuster songs include “Let it Be” sung by the character Elsa in the Disney animated feature Frozen. Or maybe you know her from her many appearances as Shelby Corcoran in the television series Glee. But not many people know Idina’s sister, Cara Mentzel, an elementary school teacher in Boulder, Colorado. At least, they didn’t know the younger sister before now. (And her name really is spelled with the extra “T”.)

Cara earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, magna cum laude, from the University of Colorado in 1996. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Children’s Literacy from the same university in 2008. In addition, she was designated a National Board certified reading teacher in 2011.

After earning her degrees, Cara taught elementary school, primarily second and third grades, for 13 years in classrooms in the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado. For her work in the classroom, Cara has earned some prestigious recognition. She garnered the Barnes & Noble “My Favorite Teacher” award in the 2010-2011 academic year, and she was named to the Superintendent’s Honor Roll in 2011.

Former elementary teacher Cara Mentzel and her sister, singer and actress, Idina Menzel, have just published Loud Mouse, their first children’s book together. Photo Credit: Emejo Madrid

Cara and Idina have recently been interviewed on numerous daytime talk shows because the sisters have co-written a new book for young children. The volume, written for an audience aged 3-5 years, is entitled Loud Mouse. The book, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, was published last month by Disney-Hyperion Press. The storyline revolves around the main character, a mouse named Dee, who was born to sing. Usually she performs just for herself, but when her teacher asks everyone to share something with their classmates, Dee decides to share a song. And as Dee sings la, la, la, la, LOUDly in front of her class for the first time, something extraordinary happens. . . .

Loud Mouse is not Cara’s first published book. Voice Lessons: A Sisters Story is a first-hand account of a younger sister growing up in the shadow of her larger-than-life older sister—looking up to her, wondering how they were alike and how they were different and, ultimately, learning how to live her own life and speak in her own voice. The book was published in 2017 by St. Martin’s Press.

Today, Cara devotes her considerable talent to writing, but on occasion she can still be found back in the classroom, speaking to kids about her favorite books. Idina and Cara are currently working on their second book together,  a sequel to Loud Mouse entitled Proud Mouse.

Chicago teacher Vivian Paley promoted the value of child play in the classroom

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Chalkboard Champion Vivian Paley: Kindergarten teacher, early childhood education research, author, and passionate advocate for child play in the classroom. Photo Credit: The New York Times

One of the most remarkable teachers I have been reading about recently is Vivian Paley, a pre-school and kindergarten teacher, early childhood education researcher, and author originally from Chicago, Illinois. She devoted her lengthy career to proving the value of storytelling and fantasy play in the learning process.

Vivian was born in Chicago on Jan. 25, 1929. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1947. She earned a second degree, a B.A. in Psychology, from Newcomb College in Louisiana in 1950. She earned a Master’s degree from Hofstra University in New York in 1962.

After earning her degrees, Vivian inaugurated her teaching career in New Orleans. There, she once revealed, she felt burdened by what she considered to be an overemphasis on strict learning boundaries and memorization. She came to believe that such an approach stifled both learning and teaching. This experience became the catalyst for her later work. In the 1960’s Vivian relocated to New York, where she taught at public schools in Great Neck and Long Island until 1971. At that time she returned to Chicago, where she accepted a teaching position at the Lab Schools associated with the University of Chicago. There she was free to develop innovative instructional practices, conduct experiments, and pursue her research. In all, Vivian’s career as an educator spanned 37 years. Vivian retired from Lab in 1995, but in the years that followed she continued to lecture and hold workshops around the world.

Many professional educators believe that the most significant impact Vivian has had on the profession is in advancing the theory that storytelling and fantasy play are essential elements in academic and social growth. Her research on the subject was discussed at length in her books A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play; The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter; and Bad Guys Don’t Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four. In these books, Vivian demonstrates that storytelling and fantasy play help young learners immensely as they make sense of their environment, develop language skills, collaborate with their peers, and successfully function in the classroom.

For her work as an educator and a researcher, Vivian has earned many accolades. In 1989, she garnered the prestigious MacArthur Award. Known unofficially as the “Genius Grant,” the prize is given each year to between 20 and 30 individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their field. The recognition comes with a cash prize of $625,000. Vivian is the only kindergarten teacher to earn the award.

Vivian also earned the Erikson Institute Award for Service to Children in 1987 and the David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Teaching in English in 1999. She also garnered the John Dewey Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2000 and was named an Outstanding Educator by the National Council of Teachers of English in 2004.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on July 26, 2019, in Crozet, Virginia. She was 90 years old, but she will always be remembered as an advocate for child play.

 

Elem school teacher Julie Fry of Washington garners prestigious PAEMST award

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Elementary school teacher Julie Fry of Washington state has garnered a prestigious PAEMST award. Photo Credit: Yakima Herald Republic

It is always a pleasure to share stories about exceptional educators who have garnered honors for their work. One of these is Julie Fry, an elementary school teacher from Washington state who has garnered a prestigious PAEMST award.

The PAEMST, Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, recognize the dedication, hard work, and importance that America’s teachers play in supporting learners who will become future STEM professionals, including computer technologists, climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. The PAEMST program, founded in 1983, is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honor comes with a $10,000 cash prize.

Julie teaches first grade at Roosevelt Elementary School in Yakima, Washington. In all, her career there has spanned 26 years. In fact, she was raised in Yakima and attended the school when she was a child.

The honored educator has a deep passion for hands-on science instruction in the primary classroom. Her curriculum emphasizes guiding students to ask questions about phenomena they observe in their environment, and she organizes hands-on activities to help them build knowledge. Julie says she wants her students to never be afraid to ask questions, even if their initial thoughts on a subject turn out to be wrong. In her classroom, she declares, the motto is “no blame, no shame,” when it comes to learning.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Julie serves as a consultant for primary science professional development sessions, participated in state leadership groups such as Leadership Alliance for Science and Education Reform, and serves as a trainer for teachers in the region in developing first grade science curriculum.

Julie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education and her Master’s degree in Reading from Central Washington University. She is certified as a K-12 reading specialist; is National Board Certified; and was a PAEMST State Finalist in 2016 and 2018. In 2020, she won the local Crystal Apple educational award.

Cherie Bonder Goldman garners 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year honors, yet education is her second career

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Elementary teacher Cherie Bonder Goldman of Savannah, Georgia, has been named her state’s 2022  Teacher of the Year. Yet teaching is a second career for the honored educator. Photo Credit: The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Many excellent educators come to the classroom years after establishing successful careers in the private sector. One of these is Cherie Bonder Goldman, an elementary school teacher in Georgia who originally worked in the advertising industry. Teaching may be Cherie’s second career, but clearly education is her calling. She is so good at the job that she has garnered the title of 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year!

Cherie was born to a Jewish family in New York and was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Japanese from Georgetown University in 1993, and her Master’s degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University in 1995. Originally her goal was to become a Japanese language teacher. Unfortunately, jobs in that field were scarce, and so she accepted a position in advertising, first working on the Toyota account at Saatchi & Saatchi, and then working on the Clorox account at DDB Worldwide Communications Group.

Despite her success in the corporate world, deep down inside Cherie knew she belonged in the classroom. After she moved to Savannah, Georgia, she enrolled at Armstrong Atlantic State University, where she earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She also completed coursework to become an Education Specialist in Teacher Leadership from Mercer University in 2019.

Cherie launched her career as an educator when she accepted a position with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, first at White Bluff Elementary, and then at Hesse K-8 School, where she has taught for the last 12 years. She currently teaches English to Speakers of Other Languages.

“I always strive to make content personally relevant so students never ask, ‘What’s the point?'” declares Cherie. for example, “In math, we design dream homes, calculating area for carpet and perimeter for fencing. In writing, we pen letters to the principal supporting or disagreeing with school uniforms so students understand the exponential power of well-articulated opinions,” she says. “When students connect content to their world, education transcends the classroom,” Cherie concludes.

At Hesse, in addition to her work int he classroom, Cherie serves on the Leadership Team and chairs the Schoolwide Writing Team. She has also served as a grade level-lead, the Site-based Induction Specialist, the Professional Learning Liaison, and a School Council member.

For her exemplary work in the classroom, Cherie has garnered honors as the 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year. In this role, she has chaired a task force established to investigate the root causes of teacher burnout and to make actionable suggestions for improvement to state and local policy makers.

Teacher Abby Hemenway a pioneer in publishing

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Abby Hemenway, who once taught school in Michigan, earned acclaim as an author and pioneering publisher of local histories. Photo Credit: Public Domain

Abby Hemenway, a 19th-century educator in Michigan, earned acclaim as an author and pioneering publisher of local histories. Because of her efforts, the concept of history as a social science became universally accepted.

Abby was born on Oct. 7, 1828, in Ludlow, Vermont. After her graduation from Black River Academy, she relocated to Michigan in 1853, where she became a teacher. After teaching for three years, she returned to Vermont, where she explored an interest in writing and publishing. In 1858 the former teacher published a volume of poems written by Green Mountain State writers entitled Poets and Poetry of Vermont. The volume enjoyed so much success that Abby founded a new publication, the Vermont Historical Gazetteer, with the goal of publishing a local history for every city and hamlet in her state.

Before Abby’s day, the customary topics for publishing involved biographies of famous military and political men, and stories about the historical events in which they took part. Abby pioneered the practice of chronicling everyday activities of average citizens, rather than focusing only on prominent individuals and events. She published these stories in her Gazetteer.

After 30 years of hard work, six volumes of her Gazetteer were published, all between the years of 1860 and 1892. These volumes include local histories of 13 of the 14 counties in Vermont. The only county not included is Windsor County. The Gazetteer is still used today as the primary resource for 18th and 19th-century Vermont state history. The volumes include valuable information such as the names and terms of service for local office holders, genealogical information for early Caucasian residents, and the names and terms of service for local clergy.

Abby accomplished her goals in a period of time when women were expected to marry and raise families. In fact, she was frequently told that “history is not suitable work for a woman.” Nevertheless, she persevered, despite considerable adversity. Because of her pioneering efforts, the concept of history as a social science is now universally accepted.

Sadly, on Feb., 24, 1890, Abby Hemenway passed away in Chicago, Illinois, after suffering a stroke. She was 61 years old. This Chalkboard Champion’s story is explored more fully in a 2001 biography entitled The Passion of Abby Maria Hemenway by Deborah Picman Clifford.