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.

Former elementary school teacher Michelle Rhee has devoted her entire professional life to bettering US schools.   (Photo credit: Creative Commons)

Former elementary school teacher Michelle Rhee has devoted her entire professional life to bettering US schools. From her own experiences in the classroom, both as a student and as a teacher, and then through establishing and running nonprofits devoted to school improvement, to serving as the Chancellor of Washington, DC, schools, Michelle has dedicated herself to making changes in schools that would create positive results for kids.

Michelle was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of immigrants from South Korea. Her father was a doctor and her mother owned a clothing store. When Michelle was a young girl, the Rhee family lived in Toledo, Ohio. Following her graduation from Maumee Valley Country Day School in 1988, Michelle enrolled at Cornell University, where in 1992 she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Government. Later, she earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1997.

In her senior year in college, Michelle signed up for the Teach for America program. After completing a five-week summer program, she accepted a position as a teacher at Harlem Park Elementary, an inner-city school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Her first year as a teacher was rough, Michelle has admitted. Determined to improve her professional skills, Michelle completed summer school courses and earned her teaching credential before returning to the classroom for her second year of teaching.

In 1997, Michelle left the classroom and founded The New Teacher Project (TNTP). TNTP was a nonprofit organization designed to improve the methods schools use to recruit, select, and train teachers in schools described as difficult to staff. In 2007, Michelle made another career move. She accepted a position as the Chancellor of Schools in Washington, DC. At the time, the district more than 47,000 students were enrolled in 123 schools throughout the district. During her years there, DC experienced double-digit growth in both their state reading and state math scores in seventh, eighth and tenth grades. She served as the Chancellor until 2010, when she stepped down to establish Students First, an organization devoted to education reform.

For her work as an educator and administrator, Michelle has earned national recognition. She has served on the advisory boards for both the National Council on Teacher Quality and the National Center for Alternative Certification. In addition, she was invited by former First Lady Laura Bush to be a special guest at the State of the Union address of President George W. Bush State in 2008.

To learn more about Michelle Rhee, click on this link to her biography on the website for Students First.

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.