Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

AR elementary teacher Jeanie Wilcoxon named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school educator Jeanie Wilcoxon of Little Rock, Arkansas, was named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Jeanie Wilcoxon

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for her work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Jeanie Wilcoxon, an elementary school teacher from Arkansas. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Jeanie teaches mathematics to fourth graders at Chenal Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Over the course of her 25 years as a professional educator, she has developed a proven method for helping her students succeed. In fact, her students consistently score in the top 3% of all math students in her state. And her students consistently maintain high math scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association, with 80% of her students meeting their goals for growth in math.

In addition to her work at Chenal Elementary, the honored educator has also served at the high school level as an Assistant Volleyball Coach from 2016 to 2022. From 2010 to 2011, she was a fifth-grade language arts teacher in the Dumas School District, and prior to that, she taught multiple grades in Iberville Parish Schools in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Jeanie’s selection as Arkansas’s 2025 Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition she has received. In 2007 she was named Iberville Parish Teacher of the Year. She was also named the Pulaski County Special School District Teacher of the Year for 2023-2024 and the Iberville Parish Teacher of the Year the same year. She is a member of the Order of Omega leadership honor society.

Jeanie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Secondary Physical Education from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She earned her teaching certificate in Elementary Education from Louisiana State University. In addition, she has experience working as a tutor and a mentor teacher.

Congratulations, Jeanie Wilcoxon!

Elem teacher Deborah Stringfellow named Alabama’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary Reading and Language Arts teacher Deborah Stringfellow named Alabama State’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: The 1819 Newsletter

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional teachers who have earned accolades for their work in the field of education. One of these is Deborah Stingfellow, an elementary school teacher from Coosada, Alabama. She has been named her state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.

Deborah currently teaches Reading and Language Arts to fourth graders at Airport Road Intermediate School in Coosada, Elmore County. In a career that spans four decades, she has taught at Airport Road for the past four. Prior to that, she taught in Snellville, Georgia, and Daleville, Alabama. She has taught regular education and gifted education, and at both the elementary and junior high school levels. She also served as an Assistant Principal in Snellville for four years of her career.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Deborah contributes to her community through the initiative she founded, Sowing Seeds: Growing Teachers, which involves partnering with schools and universities. The honored educator dedicates her time to mentoring new teachers, empowering experienced educators with essential resources, and presenting at conferences. 

Deborah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s degree in Special Education, both from Troy University. She has also completed the requirements for an Education Specialist’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. And she is a National Board Certified teacher. 

This exemplary educator possesses a strong passion for education, which comes from her humble beginnings. Both her parents had to quit school before reaching the eighth grade in order to help support their families. “Despite not having the opportunity for formal education, my parents understood its importance and instilled in me a strong work ethic, a deep appreciation for education and a commitment to lifelong learning,” Deborah declares. “As a young teenager, the realization of what could have been for my parents became a powerful motivator,” she continues. Later, her father earned his GED, and Deborah helped her mother earn her GED as well.

Congratulations, Deborah!

 

NJ elementary teacher Maureen Moran honored by VFW

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Elementary school teacher Maureen Moran has been named a 2025 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo credit: Cedar Hill Elementary School

Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in the state of New Jersey honors three outstanding educators with their Teacher of the Year award. This honor recognizes three exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment to teaching citizenship and patriotism to their students.

Each year, one teacher at the elementary, one at the junior high, and one at the high school level are selected. In making those selections, the organizations choose teachers whose classroom curriculum focuses on citizenship topics, including civic responsibility, patriotism, flag etiquette, and for providing their students with opportunities to honor veterans.

This year, elementary school teacher Maureen Moran has been chosen as the Elementary VFW Teacher of the Year. Maureen teaches second grade at Cedar Hill Elementary School, one of five elementary schools in Montville Township, New Jersey

In addition to her classroom work, Maureen is part of her school’s Character Education Program, which collects and assembles personal care donations from each class at the school. This year the committee assembled 57 complete Care Kits, which include shave, dental and shower items, and an additional 84 partial Care Kits, as well as collecting family size donations and extra supplies. The items are them distributed to needy individuals

In addition, Maureen is one of the organizers of her campus Veterans Day event. “Maureen Moran instills in her students, and students throughout the school, a sense of national pride and civic responsibility, combined with her unwavering commitment to character education,” asserts Ken Hanzi, Commander of VFW Post 5481. “Maureen has the exceptional ability to connect the values of citizenship and patriotism to her everyday teaching.”

To learn more about the VFW, click on this link.

 

Elementary school teacher and traveling trailblazer Fanny Ruth Blum

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Elementary school teacher Fanny Blum was a traveling trailblazer in her day. Photo credit:San Bernardino Sun

There are many exceptional educators who serve as trailblazers and role models. One of these is Fanny Ruth Blum, an elementary school teacher who traveled the world as a single woman in a time period where this was not typically done.

Fanny was born on May 17, 1935, in the small town of East Lynn in West Virginia, the fourth of seven siblings. As a young child, she was a dedicated student. In high school, she studied journalism and served on the committee that produced the campus yearbook. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Marshall University located in Huntington, West Virginia. She also completed the requirements for her teaching credential there.

Fanny was excited by the prospect of travel, and was certainly a pioneer in her day. As soon as she completed her education, she accepted teaching positions first in the Philippines and then in Germany. As a single woman in her 20’s, she travelled throughout Asia and Europe, where she celebrated the New Year at the Shangri-La in Singapore. She once went skiing with actor rock Hudson and she also once shook hands with John F. Kennedy.

After returning to the United States, Fanny taught in a small mining town in Northern California. There she met and married Caroll Arthur Blum, an engineer. The couple relocated to Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and Stockton. It was while in Stockton that Fanny and Carol expanded their family to include three children. In the 1980s, Carol was offered a professional opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia, and the Blums readily agreed. During these years, the family enjoyed tours of Europe and Africa.

After Carol passed away in 1983, Fanny returned to California with her children, settling in Placencia and accepting a position as a kindergarten teacher. Once she retired, she moved to Murrieta, California, where she lived until her passing on January 20, 2025, at the age of 89.

 

Elem teacher Laurie Basloe garners NYC Big Apple Award

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Elementary school teacher Laurie Basloe has earned a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Eduction. Photo credit: Laurie Basloe

It is always exciting for me to introduce you to an outstanding educator who has gained recognition for the work they do in a public school classroom. One of these is Laurie Basloe, an elementary school teacher who has garnered a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Education.

The Big Apple Awards recognize and celebrate New York City teachers who inspire students to be their best selves; who model equitable learning with high expectations for the diverse and dynamic needs of all students; who affirm students’ identities; and who enrich their school communities by partnering with families, community members, and community-based organizations. To learn more, click on this link to Big Apple Awards.

Laurie teaches fifth graders at PS 321 (William Penn Elementary School} in Brooklyn. She has taught there since 2013. Before her assignment at PS 321, she taught fifth grade at PS 119 for six years, and before that she taught fourth grade for two years at PS 72.

This remarkable educator has a reputation for being an active leader in her school community. “One of the things I love most about being a teacher is the ability to inspire children through many different experiences,” confesses Laurie. To meet the needs of diversity in her student population, she incorporates the arts—particularly dance, as that is her specialty—and cultural experiences in her curriculum. In addition to the work she does with fifth graders, she serves on the campus Green & Healthy Committee and on the Sunshine Committee.

Originally, Laurie planned to be a professional dancer, even though she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 7. She achieved her dream of becoming a professional dancer when she was selected to perform with the Richmond Ballet in Richmond, Virginia, until injuries halted her dance career. During three years with the ballet’s outreach program in inner-city schools, Laurie began to seriously consider a transition from arts to education. “I discovered I had this passion for teaching kids,” she recalled.

Laurie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Dance from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 2001. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Brooklyn College in 2006.