Tag Archives: English Teachers

Texas educator Monica Washington inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Former high school English teacher Monica Washington from Texarkana, Texas, is one of only five educators nationwide who have been inducted into the 2023 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame.  Photo Credit: Linked In

Congratulations to educator Monica Washington, a former English teacher from Texarkana, Texas. She is one of only five educators nationwide who have been inducted into the 2023 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Monica inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1998 at an inner-city school in Memphis, Tennessee. After transferring to Texas High School in Texarkana, she taught English and AP English and served as the Department Chair at Texas High School for nine years there. During her career, she has also served as a a coordinator for the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and a REACH co-ordinator on her campus. Over the course of her 20-year career, she has taught grades 7-12.

Monica once confessed that she has wanted to be a educator since she was a child. She revealed that when she was young, she taught teddy bears in her room and later “tortured” friends from her neighborhood with lessons on her porch. She says that the encouragement to learn and teach came from her mother and other teachers in her life.

In addition to her work at Texas High, Monica is an adjunct professor at both LeMoyne-Owen College and Texarkana College. She is member of the NEA Foundation Board and chairs the NEA Teacher Advisory Committee. She has also co-chaired the Leading the Profession Committee for the Texas State Teachers Association. Additionally, she has served in the Texas State Teachers Association and the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. And, as if all this were not enough, she is also an instructional coach for BetterLesson.

The honor she has garnered from the NTHF is not the only recognition Monica has received. She was selected the Texas State Teacher of The Year in 2014. The same year, she garnered the Ermalee Boice Instructional Advocacy Award and an NAACP Special Achievement Award. In 2015, she was named a Lowell Milken Center Unsung Hero Fellow. The same year she was selected as a NEA Foundation Global Fellow and travelled to Peru to study the educational system there. In 2022, she was selected a Voices for Honest Education Fellow. In this role, Monica

Monica earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from LeMoyne-Owen College in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in English from the University of Memphis in 2003. She completed the requirements for a degree as a Specialist in Education from Walden University in 2019.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia in 1989 to honor outstanding educators through a recognition program and museum. Nominees must be certificated public or non-public school teachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades pre K-12. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 145 educators from 40 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. To learn more about the program, click on this link to the NTHF.

 

CO teacher Ashley Lowe develops individualized student learning plans

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Colorado English teacher Ashley Lowe builds meaningful relationships and individualized student learning plans. Photo Credit: Pikes Peak Early College

Our nation’s students are very fortunate to have such dedicated teachers in the classroom. One of these is Ashley Lowe, a middle school English teacher from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Ashley teaches eighth grade at Falcon Middle School in Peyton, Colorado. Her career as an educator spans four years. Prior to entering the teaching profession, she worked as an associate editor and video journalist for Pulp Newsmagazine.

Building meaningful relationship with students is powerful and important, asserts Ashley. She also strives to listen to others, set fair but high expectations for students, and communicate her content knowledge in numerous ways to appeal to all types of learners. And she also says that, in addition to building the language skills of reading, writing, and oral communication, she also teaches empathy. “As educators, we have to remember that beyond the confines of our classrooms and schools, there are students who have been positively impacted in small and large ways,” she declares.

Ashley is well-known for working collaboratively with her peers. She is a participant in her campus Modern Teacher group. The mission of the group is to create a learner-centered culture on the campus. In fact, her individualized student learning plans are so learner-centered that they were nationally recognized at the 2021 National Conference on Digital Convergence.

For her work in the classroom, Ashley has earned many accolades. She was named her District’s Teacher of the Year in 2021. And this year, she is one of seven finalists named by the Colorado Department of Education for her state’s Teacher of the Year.

Ashely attended Pueblo Community College, where she earned her Associate of Arts degree. While there, she garnered a Rising Star Award for her participation in community service projects and programs in 2016. She served as a Destination Imagination Team Manager for elementary students, and she created the first campus book club to build a stronger reading community. In 2019, Ashley earned her Bachelor’s degree in English/Language Arts Teacher Education from Colorado State University, Pueblo. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in English through an online program at Arizona State University.

California teacher Maria Lopez worked to secure the right to vote for women

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Dedicated English as a Second Language teacher Maria Lopez worked diligently towards securing the right to vote for women in California. Photo Credit: National Women’s History Museum

There are many dedicated women educators who worked tirelessly to secure the right to vote for women. One of these was Maria Lopez, an English teacher from Southern California.

Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez was born in Los Angeles in 1881, at Casa Vieja, her family home in the San Gabriel. Her father, who worked as a blacksmith, was an immigrant from Mexico.

As a young girl, Maria graduated from Pasadena High School in 1897. She then enrolled at the Los Angeles State Normal School, which would later become UCLA. There she studied to be a teacher. Once she earned her teaching certificate, Maria accepted a position at Los Angeles High School, where she taught English as a Second Language. She also worked as a translator. During her years as a professional educator, Maria earned a reputation for being a devoted teacher, working diligently to educate the general public about California culture and to promote Spanish-language instruction. In 1902, Maria became part of the faculty at the University of California, becoming possibly the youngest instructor on staff there at the time.

In addition to teaching at the university, Maria became active in the local Votes for Women Club, and in 1911, she was elected President of the College Equal Suffrage League. She translated information about the suffrage movement into Spanish in order to marshal support for the movement in the Hispanic community. She traveled throughout Southern California, distributing suffrage posters and literature and giving speeches, all in Spanish. In addition, she wrote a persuasive opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Herald on Aug. 20, 1911, which advanced the argument that California could not call itself a democracy while disenfranchising half its citizens. Happily, California passed a suffrage proposition on Oct. 10, 1911, becoming the sixth state in the nation to grant the right to vote to women, nine years before the passage of the 19th Amendment.

During World War I, Maria left her teaching position to support the war effort. She relocated to New York City, where she took courses in auto mechanics and flying. Then she traveled to France, where she served as an ambulance driver. While there, the hospital where Maria and three other women were stationed was bombarded by enemy fire, and the four worked all night carrying wounded soldiers to safety. The French government honored the four for their bravery in 1918.

Maria passed away on Nov. 20, 1977, in Orange, California. She is buried at San Gabriel Christian Church in Los Angeles.

Educator and author Renee Jones named Nebraska’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to high school English teacher and author Renee Jones, who has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Lincoln Public Schools

Congratulations are due to high school teacher Renee Jones from Lincoln, Nebraska. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year!

Renee teaches English, reading interventions, and oral communications courses at Lincoln High School. She says that connecting with students is the key to their academic success. In her classroom, she emphasizes building relationships. In fact, she says her philosophy can best be summarized as connection before curriculum. “Connecting students is the most influential and important element of my role as a teacher,” Renee declares. “Connecting students with me, with their peers, and with themselves, is at the heart of gaining the confidence they need,” she continues. Renee is so passionate about and successful at this practice that she was selected to speak on the topic at the 2022 South by Southwest (SXSW) EDU National Conference in 2022.

Renee’s selection as the 2023 Nebraska Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition she has earned. In 2019, she garnered the  Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools Inspire Award.

And these awards are not the only accomplishments Renee can boast about. During the pandemic, Renee authored a memoir describing the complications of balancing her work with her responsibilities as the mother of four young children. The volume, published by Google books in 2021, is entitled It Was Always Four: My Pandemic Journey in Becoming and Walking Away from Life as a Stay-At-Home Mom.

Renee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska, Omaha. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership in 2020 from Doane University, a private university located in Crete, Nebraska. She inaugurated her career as an educator in 2015 when she was hired to  teach English at Bryan Community Focus Program in Lincoln. In all, her career as an educator has spanned eight years.

 

Lisa Leaheey named Rhode Island’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Lisa Leaheey of Providence, Rhode Island, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit:North Providence School Department

It is always a pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Lisa Leaheey, a high school teacher from Rhode Island who has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Lisa has been teaching at North Providence High School in Providence for her entire 23-year career. Currently she teaches English to freshman and Advanced Placement Literature and Composition to seniors there. Ever since the beginning of her career, Lisa has dedicated herself to helping students be successful, and she continuously seeks innovative ways to engage her students in class while at the same time challenging their individual strengths and supporting their individual needs.

In addition to her work with students, Lisa created and curated the North Providence School Department’s Technology Integration and Distance Learning Support website. This amazing educator also serves as the Chair of the visiting committee for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). She has also served on the NEASC’s Commission on Public Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools. Lisa is a FUSE Fellow, and in this role she supports districts in preparing for accreditation visits. She has done this work for the past 14 years. And as if all the were not enough, for three years she has served as an instructional coach with Rhode Island’s Highlander Institute, working to incorporate technology into district classrooms.

Lisa learned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education and her Master’s degree in English, both from Rhode Island College. She has also earned a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Technology Integration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Congratulations, Lisa!