Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Chalkboard Champion and pioneer Carrie McLain of Alaska

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Chalkboard Champion Carrie McLain of Nome, Alaska, published a slender volume of her memories in Pioneer Teacher: Turn of the Century Classroom in Remote Northwestern Alaska. Photo credit: Public domain

Throughout American history, there are many Chalkboard Champions who were essential in the settling our country’s wilderness territories. One of these was Carrie McLain, a pioneer teacher in the wilderness territory of Nome, Alaska.

Carrie was born on January 26, 1895, in Astoria, Long Island, New York. When she was just a child of ten, her father moved Carrie and her four siblings to the fledgling village of Nome on the ice-crusted coast of northwestern Alaska. There she grew to adulthood and became a neophyte teacher at a pioneer school on the Seward Penninsula. During those years, she also married and reared a family of one son and three daughters.

Carrie tells the fascinating story of her provincial life in Alaska in Pioneer Teacher: Turn of the Century Classroom in Remote Northwestern Alaska. Anyone interested in learning more about her rugged existence on the frigid Alaskan frontier would be interested in reading the slender volume  (it’s only 70 pages, including photographs). The book, published in 1970, can be found on amazon at this link: Pioneer Teacher. She also wrote Gold Rush Nome, which is only 46 pages in length, published in 1969, can also be found on amazon. This book offers a first-hand account of the Alaskan Gold Rush and how it influenced the growth and character of Nome. In addition to Carrie’s text, the volume contains 23 pages of black and white photographs.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on May 30, 1973, at Palmer Pioneers Home, and was buried in Nome. The of Nome dedicated a community museum in her honor.  The Carrie McLain Museum highlights the history of Nome and Western Alaska. Many of the institution’s more than 15,000 artifacts are relates to gold-rush days, including racks of mining equipment, historical documents, and photo albums.

Ohio’s Audrey Keagy: Kindergarten teacher and WWII veteran

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Ohio kindergarten teacher and US Coast Guard veteran Audrey Keagy. Photo credit: WikiTree.

There are many American veterans who have chosen to serve in the classroom after they have served their country in the military. One of these is Audrey Keagy, a kindergarten teacher from Ohio who also served in the US Coast Guard.

Audrey was born on August 17, 1923, in Jefferson County, Ohio. When she was a child, her family moved frequently because her father worked for the New York Central Railroad.

After she graduated from high school in Ohio in 1941, Audrey took a job as an office worker at the Timken Roller Bearing Company in Canton. When World War II broke out, Audrey supported the war effort by working in Republic Steel, a factory that assembled airplanes. In October, 1944, she joined the SPARs branch, the Women’s Reserve of the US Coast Guard. The military sent her to Toledo, where she worked as a switchboard operator.

Once the war was ended and her service was over, Audrey returned to Canton. She used her GI Bill benefits to enroll at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where she earned the education necessary to become a kindergarten teacher. She was the first person in her family to attend college. “My mother was absolutely thrilled that I was attending college,” Audrey once remembered.

Audrey got her first teaching job as a kindergarten teacher in Canton. Eventually she transferred to the Williamsburg, Ohio, school system where she taught for 26 years. After her retirement, she continued to serve her community as a literacy tutor at her local library.

This amazing Chalkboard Hero passed away on May 18, 2012. To learn more about Audrey, click on this link to WikiTree.

Maggi Parker: Teacher, Hollywood celeb, and businesswoman

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New Hampshire elementary teacher Maggi Parker, in her role on Hawaii Five-0.

Many American educators have also earned fame in the entertainment field. One of these is Marjorie Parker, also known as Maggi Parker, an elementary school teacher from New Hampshire who, in her heyday, also earned some notoriety in Hollywood.

Maggi was born in 1927 in Nashua, New Hampshire. As a child, she attended elementary schools in Merrimack. After her 1944 graduation from Nashua High School, she enrolled in Keene State College. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education. She earned her Master’s in Education in School
Administration from Boston University. She also completed some doctoral courses the University of Southern California

Once she completed her education, Maggi taught in elementary schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Then she was hired by the US Air Force, and through them she continued her career as an educator in schools in Tokyo, Madrid, and Mallorca. Later Maggi relocated to Hawaii, where she provided educational services to emotionally disturbed children and adults.

In addition to pursuing her career as an educator in Hawaii, Maggi also accepted roles in various television shows. She appeared in The King Family Show, I Dream of Jeannie, and a Kellogg’s cereal commercial. She also appeared in uncredited roles in Paradise, Hawaiian Style; I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew; and Hawaii. In addition, she was cast in Hawaii Five-0. She appeared in 14 episodes of that show in 1968-1969.

Not only is Maggi an excellent educator and a talented actress, but she has also proven to be adept in business ventures as well. She served as the publicity officer for the Friends of the Iolani Palace, the former official residence of Hawaiian royalty. She was instrumental in acquiring palace furnishings. She also worked for the royal family for many years.

Maggi, who is now 93 years old, currently lives in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu in Hawaii.

To learn more about this amazing educator, see this link to New Hampshire’s History Blog.

Quick-thinking by Michigan teacher Julia Koch saves a life

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When Michigan teacher Julia Koch spoke to the grandparent of one of her students on the telephone, she noticed something alarming in the older woman’s speech. What the teacher did next saved the grandparent’s life. Photo credit: CNN.

When Michigan teacher Julia Koch spoke to the grandparent of one of her students on the telephone during a virtual lesson, she noticed something alarming in the older woman’s speech. What the teacher did next saved the grandparent’s life.

Julia Koch, a first grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Muskeegan Heights, Michigan, was teaching her virtual class on September 22 when she received a call from Cynthia Phillips, the grandparent of one of her students. Cynthia had called to say she was having difficulties with the technology, but during the conversation Julia noticed something alarming about the grandparent’s speech.

“It was clear there was something very wrong,” Julia remembered. “Her words were so jumbled, and I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. She didn’t sound like herself.” The teacher immediately called her principal, Charlie Lovelady, who then directed a staff member to call 911 while she spoke to Cynthia on the phone.
“I noticed her speech was impaired, and I asked her if she was all right, and she was stumbling over her words and it was getting worse by the minute,” the principal told a reporter from CNN. “I knew the symptoms of a stroke because I lost my father from a stroke, so I told her hold on and immediately got her help.”
An ambulance was dispatched to the student’s home, but Lovelady asked two staff member to drive to the Phillips home to make sure the children were cared for during the medical crisis.
“I would have died if it weren’t for the teacher being so quick and fast about getting me help,” Cynthia said from her hospital bed. “It made me so close to the staff and the principal, even the secretary who hurried to get me on the phone with the principal. They showed up at my house to make sure I’m okay,” she said through her tears. “I thank God I didn’t die in front of my kids.”
Not many educators can say they have helped saved a life. Julia Koch and Charlie Lovelady: Two true Chalkboard Heroes.
To read more about this story, see this link at CNN.

Mandi Torrez named New Mexico’s 2020 Teacher of the Year

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Mandi Torrez, an elementary teacher from Placitas, New Mexico, was named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

I enjoy sharing stories about educators that have been honored for their work with students. One of these is Mandi Torrez, a third grade teacher at Placitas Elementary in the Bernalillo School District in Placitas, New Mexico. She has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Mandi earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also attended Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she earned a Master’s degree in Integrated Elementary Education and Special Education. Before she became an educator, Mandi worked as a journalist for eight years. Her career as a teacher has spanned ten years.

In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom, Mandi has worked tirelessly to highlight cultural awareness at Placitas Elementary by organizing annual celebrations for National Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, and National Black History Month.

This work is so important to the educational development of her students, Mandi believes. “I’ve promoted, in education speak, CLRI, which means Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction,” Mandi remarked. “It’s using kids’ culture in the classroom. For example, many children are uncomfortable raising a hand or shouting an answer,” she explained. “Maybe they need to talk out a problem because they come from a more communal culture, so I might break students into groups and allow them all the chance to discuss. It helps them open up like they might at home,” she continued.

Additionallly, Mandi is a member of the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics and the National Education Association. She has served on the Placitas Elementary Leadership Team since 2017. In addition to her recognition as 2019 State Teacher of the Year, she was nominated for the Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017.

To learn more about this amazing chalkboard champion, read this article published by Parents.com.