Covid-19 claims the life of another beloved educator: Elementary school teacher Demi Bannister of Columbia, South Carolina. Photo credit: Richland Two School District

With great sadness, we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of another beloved educator. Demi Bannister, a third grade teacher from Columbia, South Carolina, passed away from the affliction on September 7, 2020. She was only 28 years old.

Demi had just started her fifth year of teaching at Windsor Elementary School. She was at the school on Aug. 28, during a week of teacher inservice days before the school year began. She started teaching the following week from home, school district officials said, and passed away about two weeks later.

As a teacher, Demi had a reputation for creativity, and attention to detail to connect with her students. “She was known for having her classroom upbeat and setting her expectations high,” recalled colleague Rebecca Twitty. “Even if she knew a particular student would struggle with a lesson, she wouldn’t let them look down on themselves,” Twitty continued.

Known for her beautiful singing voice and her love of music, Demi was in charge of the school choir. Last year, she even wrote a song about the importance of school to the tune of the popular song “Old Town Road,” remembered Denise Quickel, Principal of Windsor Elementary. The song was composed by rapper Lil Nas X.

To read more about this amazing educator, follow this link to a story published by The State. To read more about how Covid-19 is affecting professional educators all over the country, see this article published by US News and World Report.

I love to share stories about plucky teachers, and in the short video below I share some information about a really plucky teacher from the American Southwest: Eulalia Bourne.

This daring educator, whose career spanned more than four decades, taught elementary school in rural areas, mining camps, and Indian reservations throughout Arizona during some of our country’s most challenging periods: World War I, the Depression, and World War II. This women’s libber was ahead of her time, becoming one of the very few women in her day to own and run her own cattle ranch.

Becky Oglesby, Oklahoma’s “Batman Teacher,” named her states 2019 Teacher of the Year. (Photo Credit: Oklahoma State Department of Education)

Here’s a boast not many states can make: Oklahoma has their very own Caped Crusader teacher. She is Becky Oglesby of  Yukon, Oklahoma. Becky is known in her school as the “Batman Teacher” because of the abundance of comic-book memorabilia she keeps in her classroom.

Becky, who has been named her state’s 2019 Teacher of the Year, currently teaches art for kindergarten and grades 1, 2, and 3 at Ranchwood Elementary School  in Yukon Public Schools.

“Batman believed that one man could make a difference and took it upon himself to do so and in turn became a legend. I want to be Batman,” Becky confesses. And early in her career she actually achieved her goal. The teacher became a hero to her students in 2013 when a deadly tornado ripped through her classroom at Plaza Towers Elementary in More, Oklahoma. At the height of the storm, the young hero used her body to shield her first-graders as the twister destroyed the school. Sadly, seven students from the school were lost in the melee.

The events of that day, the honored educator said, illustrate the dedication and compassion of Oklahoma’s teachers. “Any educator who truly has the heart of a teacher would have done the exact same thing given the opportunity,” Becky says. “My greatest contribution to education has been showing the world that teachers are more than babysitters worried about test scores. Your kids become our kids, and our priority is to create a safe learning environment where they can flourish.”

Through her art lessons, Becky incorporates core subject areas, provides the opportunity for students to express their uniqueness, emphasizes state academic standards, and provides significant life lessons.

To read more about Becky Oglesby, click on this link to the article provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

California teacher Janet Udomratsak teaches her third graders from her hospital bed.

During the current pandemic, educators all over the country are stepping up to meet the extra challenges that confront educators this year. But Janet Udomratsak, a teacher from Lancaster, California, is overcoming a personal medical challenge as well. Because of a high-risk pregnancy, she’s currently on doctor-ordered bed rest. Nevertheless, she is teaching from her hospital bed.

Janet teaches third grade at Tierra Bonita Elementary School in the Eastside Union School District in Lancaster. “In the beginning of the school year, that is when you build your relationship with your students, and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity,” the veteran educator declared.