Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Kentucky teacher Stephanie Foster succumbs to Covid-19

Posted on by

Sadly, we report the passing of Kentucky elementary school teacher Stephanie Foster, who succumbed to Covid-19 on Jan. 11, 2022. Photo credit: Commonwealth Journal

Sadly, the educational community is mourning the loss of yet another beloved teacher. Stephanie Foster, an elementary school teacher from Burnside, Kentucky, succumbed to the disease on Jan. 11, 2022. She was 40 years old.

Stephanie was born on Dec. 30, 1981 in Somerset, Kentucky. As a teenager, she attended Pulaski County High School, where she graduated in 2000. Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s Degree, both from Eastern Kentucky. She earned a second Master’s Degree from the University of the Cumberlands.

The fallen educator taught first grade at Burnside Elementary in the Pulaski County School System. She had been teaching at that school for 15 years. Prior to her assignment at Burnside, she taught for two years at Shopville Elementary.

The loss has been keenly felt throughout the school community. “Those lower primary grades, you do a lot of one-on-one instruction. You’re on the kids’ level,” said District Superintendent Patrick Richardson Richardson. Dr. Jeni Bolander, also a teacher, agreed that the students and their families have been hard-hit by the loss. “Teachers just have the biggest hearts,” she asserted. “They want to see the world be a better place.”

“She was a leader within our school,” recalled Burnside Principal April Mounce. “She served as a grade level representative for many years, was an instructional technology trainer for our new teachers, served as a mentor for new teachers and student teachers…..and provided professional development to other teachers on various topics and programs, Mounce continued.

 

Thelma Dewitty: First Black educator in Seattle, Washington

Posted on by
Thelma Dewitty

Thelma Dewitty, the first African American teacher hired by the Seattle Public School System, reading to her second-graders at Cooper School in 1950. Photo credit: The Pride Foundation

Many excellent classroom teachers became pioneering groundbreakers in their time. This is true of Thelma Dewitty, a talented classroom teacher who became the first African American educator in Washington state’s Seattle Public School System.

Thelma was born in 1912 in Beaumont, Texas. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, in 1941. Even before she earned her degree, Thelma inaugurated her career as a teacher in Corpus Christi, Texas, accepting her first position in 1942. She taught there for nine years, and then for another five years in Beaumont, Texas.

In 1947, Thelma moved to Washington State with her husband. There she attended graduate school at the University of Washington, and began writing a book about mathematics for children. When she expressed an interest in teaching in Seattle, she discovered that the city’s school system was not integrated. Although she was an African American, the NAACP, the Seattle Urban League, the Civic Unity Committee, and Christian Friends for Racial Equality encouraged the local school board to break the color barrier and hire her. The school board agreed, and Thelma was hired to teach at Frank B. Cooper School in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle. Throughout her long career as a teacher in Seattle, she also taught at several other elementary schools, including John Hay, Laurelhurst, and Sand Point, and she also completed a stint at Meany Junior High School.  After a career as an educator that spanned almost four decades, the dedicated classroom teacher retired in 1973.

In addition to serving as an educator, Thelma worked tirelessly for the Seattle branch of the NAACP, serving as its president in the late 1950s. She also served on the Washington State Board Against Discrimination, and she volunteered on the Board of Theater Supervisors for Seattle and King County.

This amazing educator passed away on August 19, 1976, in Seattle at age 63. She is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle, King County, Washington.

Visual arts educator Kim King named Connecticut’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Elementary school visual arts educator Kim King has been named Connecticut’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: New York University

Congratulations to visual arts teacher Kim King, who has been named Connecticut’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year!

Kim splits her time between Annie E. Vinton Elementary and Southeast Elementary schools in Mansfield. Previously she taught at Riverside Magnet School in East Hartford and Westbrook High School in Westbrook in her state.

Throughout her 12-year career as a professional educator, Kim has taught students in pre-K to twelfth grade. Regardless of the grade level she works with, her curriculum explores themes of equity, empowerment, and creativity. Kim believes that creating art helps to build confidence from within, and empowers students to discover and trust their voices and ideas.

Kim’s teaching philosophy is that what our students see and what they are exposed to matters profoundly. Her colleagues appreciate this mindset. “Kim is deeply committed to student-centered practices and supports children to find their voice and express themselves through a discovery-focused process of making art,” remarked Kelly Lyman, Superintendent of Mansfield Public Schools.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Kim works with Make Us Visible Connecticut. Through this program, the Korean born teacher contributes her expertise to enhancing the Asian American/Pacific Islander curriculum. Kim believes that all students should be reflected in the American experience and in our country’s history.

In addition to her 2022 Teacher of the Year honors, Kim was the recipient of a grant from Fund for Teachers to study the art and culture of Korea. The experience helped her guide students towards understanding people and communities different from their own through art.

Kim earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Syracuse University in New York in 1993. She earned her Master’s degree in Art Education from New York University in 1999.

To learn more about Kim King, see this article published by Steinhardt Alumna.

FL educator Nancy Henning works tirelessly for Delta Kappa Gamma

Posted on by

Retired elementary teacher Nancy Henning works tirelessly for the prestigious organization Delta Kappa Gamma. Photo credit: Delta Kappa Gamma.

I always enjoy sharing stories of exceptional educators. One of these is Nancy Henning, a retired elementary school teacher from Tallahassee, Florida. Today she spends her time and energy working for the prestigious organization Delta Kappa Gamma.

Nancy was born at Shepard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Being raised in a military family meant she moved frequently during her childhood. Before her father’s retirement to Tallahassee, Florida, she lived in Texas, Illinois, Washington DC, and the Philippines.

After her graduation from Leon High School, Nancy enrolled in courses at Florida State University. There she earned four degrees, all in the field of education. Her teaching certificate includes Early Childhood Education, Middle Grades Mathematics and Science, and Educational Leadership.

Nancy inaugurated her teaching career the Monday morning after her college graduation. Her first teaching position was at Sopchoppy Elementary School in Wakulla County, where she took over a kindergarten class for a teacher on maternity leave. When that assignment was completed, she taught fifth grade in Wakulla County for seven years. She also taught Title I Math at Crawfordville Elementary School until she was selected to teach at Wakulla Middle School in its inaugural year. There Nancy taught reading, Language Arts, math, and science, and served as the team leader.

Nancy’s next position was as a math teacher at Cobb Middle School. She taught sixth and seventh grade math until being named the Dean of Students. Later she worked in the same capacity at Fairview Middle School. There she was named the 21st Century Community Learning Center Coordinator for a federally-funded program that provided after school educational instruction and services to students and their families.

In her last year of teaching, Nancy went back to the classroom full time, teaching seventh grade math. She once remarked it was the best year ever, and she left the profession with wonderful, happy memories. Nancy retired in 2015.

In 1982, Nancy was inducted into The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, a prestigious organization for women educators. She has served at the chapter level as Membership Chair, Treasurer, Program Chair, Vice President, and President. She was the District I Director in 2006-2008. At the state level she has served on numerous committees and as the Chair of the Program of Work Committee. Currently she serves as President of the Florida State Organization, having previously held the elected offices of Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Second Vice President, and First Vice President.

MI teacher Leah Porter named her state’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Third grade teacher Leah Porter of Holt, Michigan, has been named her state’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Lansing State Journal.

I always enjoy sharing stories about outstanding educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Leah Porter, an elementary school teacher from Holt, Michigan. She has been named her state’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.

Leah is teaching third grade at Wilcox Elementary School in Holt this year, but she spent the last 15 years teaching kindergarten. Her career as an educator has spanned a total of 16 years. Leah has served her school in a variety of roles over her tenure there, including serving as a Reading Recovery teacher, teacher leader, and interventionist.

Leah is best known for her ability to build relationships with her students, and to build an atmosphere of inclusion in her classroom. “In my greatest dreams, I see an educational system that allows each child the freedom to be themselves, to have security and trust in their learning spaces, and to be celebrated for all that they are,” declared Leah.

Leah said that she has dreamed of being since she was a little girl. About a decade ago, her mother even found an old childhood drawing she’d made of herself as a teacher, which now hangs in her classroom. Reflecting on why she chose to become an educator, Leah credited her childhood teachers from North Elementary School in Lansing, Michigan, who taught her to appreciate the learning community that school provides. “I loved thinking about how you could be creative (in the job) and have to work and be on your toes every second of the day,” she said. “For all the prep and things that you think teaching will be, it’s a thousand times better than all those things and a thousand times as challenging, too, simultaneously,” she continued.

Leah earned both her Bachelor’s degree in 2004 and her Master’s degree in 2009, both from Michigan State University College of Education.