Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Covid-19 claims life of Florida teacher Carol Zuckerman

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Sadly, Covid-19 has claimed the life of beloved first grade teacher Carol Zuckerman of Waterway K-8 School in Dade County, Florida. Photo credit: Dignity Memorial.

We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Carol Zuckerman, a first grade teacher from Dade County, Florida, succumbed to the disease on March 5, 2021.

Carol was born on August 21, 1964, in Great Neck, New York. As a young woman, she earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration. For several years she lived in Paris, France. Later, she resided in California, where she was employed at a talent agency. She also lived in Maryland before relocating to Florida.

Even though her degree was in business, Carol was obviously born to be a teacher. “She loved kids and wanted them to feel special,” remembered her brother, Charles Zuckerman. “Teaching was a very satisfying career for her.”

In 2007, Carol accepted a position at Waterway K8 Center in the Adventura School District in Dade County. She taught there for 14 years, and at the time of her passing, she was teaching first grade. The beloved teacher will be sorely missed.

“Mrs. Z. was my son’s teacher this year,” recalled parent Jenya Feldbeyn-Ninaquispe. “Even though we had a rough start virtually, when we went in person learning I found out what an amazing teacher Ms. Zuckerman was. My son would always come home and share stories about what she told him about history,” Feldbeyn-Ninaquispe continued. “She truly cared about our kids, especially their feelings. One of our last texts with Mrs. Zuckerman was about how much my son enjoyed her class,” the parent concluded.

Other parents agree. “Our daughter was her first grade student last year. We greatly appreciated her resourcefulness, respectfulness, and kind understanding,” wrote on appreciative parent on Carol’s Dignity Memorial obituary. “She did her best to make learning math, science, and social studies fun both at school and during COVID 2020 distance learning. Our child learned a lot from her passionate teaching and relevant assignments,” the parent concluded.

Carol died March 5, 2021. She was 56 years old. To read her obituary, click on this link to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Nevada’s Juliana Urtubrey: Finalist for 2021 National Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations are due to Nevada educator Juliana Urtubrey. She has been named one of four finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year Award. Photo credit: University of Arizona College of Education.

Congratulations are due to Nevada educator Juliana Urtubrey. She has been named one of four finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year Award. She is the first Latina from Nevada to be selected as a finalist for the award.

Juliana works as a hybrid educator at Kermit R. Booker, Sr., Innovative Elementary School in the Clark Coiunty Public School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. There she serves as a co-teacher in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade special education settings and as an instructional strategist developing school-wide Multi-Tiered System of Supports for academic, social-emotional, and behavioral interventions.

Before Juliana worked at Booker, she taught special education in the resource setting at Crestwood Elementary School. There the honored educator earned the nickname “Ms. Earth” in response to her work in beautifying her school and community with gardens and murals.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Juliana is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Teacher Fellow, a Nevada Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow, an Understood Teacher Fellow and mentor, a Nevada Department of Education Superintendent Teacher Advisory Cabinet member, a National Board Network of Accomplished Minoritized Educators founding Board member, and a learning facilitator with the Nevada National Board Professional Learning Institute.

For her work in the field of education, Juliana has earned many accolades. She is a recipient of the 2019 Chicanos por La Causa Esperanza Latina Teaching Award; a recipient of the 2019 Hispanic Education Association of Nevada Teacher of the Year; and a 2018 Roger’s Foundation Heart of Education Winner.

Juliana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Elementary Education in 2009 and her Master’s degree in Special Bilingual Education in 2011, both from the University of Arizona. In addition, she is a National Board-Certified Teacher (Exceptional Needs Specialist, Early Childhood and Young Adults).

To read more about this exceptional educator, see the article about her published by the State of Nevada Department of Education.

Retired Oregon teacher Kris Field-Eaton serves her community

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Oregon teacher Kris Field-Eaton has worked diligently since her retirement to improve her community. For her efforts, she has earned a DKG community service award. Photo credit: Bethlehem House of Bread.

Many retired teachers continue to make a significant impact on their community, even after they have left the classroom. One of these is Kris Field-Eaton of Sherwood, Oregon, who has just been named the recipient of a DKG 2020 community service award.

Kris taught for 33 years in the Sherwood School District in her home town of Sherwood. There she worked as the Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program Director. During the years she spent in the classroom, she also worked tirelessly to establish school gardens and to foster a chess program in each of the District’s schools.

Since her retirement, Kris has donated countless hours to the community service organization Bethlehem House of Bread. Her most recent effort has been to create a community garden and to work diligently to establish a food pantry that is open seven days a week. She serves on the leadership team for Bethlehem House. She also volunteers at the Tigard Public Library and the Oregon Food Bank. In addition, Kris plays flute in the One More Time Around Again Marching Band, a group of more than 400 musicians that is based in Portland, Oregon.

For her significant contributions to her city, Kris has been awarded the 2020 Service to Community Award by the organization Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG). DKG is an organization for teachers that works to improve professional preparation, to recognize women’s work in the teaching profession, and to fund scholarships for those who need support to improve their professional skills.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, see this article about her published by The Times supported by the Pamplin Media Group.

 

Utah’s John Arthur named finalist for National Teacher of the Year

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John Arthur, an elementary school teacher from Utah, has been named one of four finalists for 2021 National Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Utah State Board of Education.

I always enjoy sharing stories about educators that have earned accolades for their hard work in the classroom. One of these is John Arthur, a teacher from Utah who has been named one of four finalists for 2021 National Teacher of the Year.

Currently, John teaches sixth grade at Meadowlark Elementary in Salt Lake City. He has taught there for eight years. John garnered widespread attention through teaching his students to create music videos that they share on the class YouTube channel, 9thEvermore. John’s students have received national recognition for their work. “I feel so blessed,” says the honored teacher. “Children are the best people and teaching is the best job. There’s just no better way to spend a day than working with kids,” he continued.

In addition to his classroom responsibilities, John has chaired the social justice committee for the Salt Lake Education Association. As a Korean American, he currently represents the Asian community on the Utah State Board of Education’s advisory committee on equity. He is also helping revise Utah’s K-6 social studies standards. John has been a speaker at numerous conferences, including the National Association for Multicultural Education, the Utah Education Association, and the Open Education Resources Project. He also delivered the keynote speech at the 2018 Leadership and Inquiry for Turnaround Conference. Furthermore, John serves as an Adjunct Professor in Graduate School of Education at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

John graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in History. He earned two Master’s degrees, one in Teaching and the other in Education from Westminster College. In addition, he has earned endorsements in English as a Second Language and K-6 Special Education (mild/moderate disabilities). He is a National Board Certified Teacher.

Former teacher Dolores Huerta: A formidable civil rights leader

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Former elementary school teacher and formidable civil rights leader Dolores Huerta worked tirelessly to secure better working conditions for migrant farm workers in the 1960’s. Photo credit: Public Domain.

Like many people I have heard of formidable civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. She worked tirelessly to secure better working conditions for migrant farm workers in the 1960’s. But did you know she was also once a teacher?

Dolores was born in Dawson, New Mexico, on April 10, 1930. In fact, she just celebrated her 91st birthday earlier this week. Raised in Stockton, California, Dolores graduated in 1955 with an AA and her teaching credentials from the College of the Pacific. After her college graduation, she accepted a teaching position in a rural Stockton elementary school. She had been teaching for only a short time when she realized she wanted to devote her vast energy to migrant farm workers and their families. “I couldn’t stand seeing farm worker children come to class hungry and in need of shoes,” she once explained. “I thought I could do more by organizing their parents than by trying to teach their hungry children.”

After just one year, Dolores resigned from her teaching position, determined to launch a campaign that would fight the numerous economic injustices faced by migrant agricultural workers. Joining forces with the legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez, the intrepid educator helped organize a large-scale strike against the commercial grape growers of the San Joaquin Valley, an effort which raised national awareness of the abysmal treatment of America’s agricultural workers. She also negotiated contracts which led to their improved working conditions. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although there are several fairly good juvenile biographies of this extraordinary woman, there is no definitive adult biography about her. The closest thing to it is A Dolores Huerta Reader edited by Mario T. Garcia. This book includes an informative biographical introduction by the editor, articles and book excerpts written about her, her own writings and transcripts of her speeches, and an interview with Mario Garcia. You can find A Dolores Huerta Reader on amazon. I have also included a chapter about this remarkable teacher in my second book, entitled Chalkboard Heroes.