Tag Archives: English Teachers

Maryland’s Keishia Thorpe garners prestigious Global Teacher Prize

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Maryland teacher Keishia Thorpe has been named this year’s recipient of the prestigious Global Teacher Prize. She was selected from more than 8,000 educators from 121 countries around the world. Photo credit: Twitter

Hearty applause goes to high school English teacher Keishia Thorpe, who has been named as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Global Teacher Prize. She was selected for the honor from more than 8,000 nominated educators working in 121 countries from around the world.

Keshia teaches at International High School Langley Park in Bladensburg, Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is credited with redesigning the twelfth-grade curriculum for her school’s English Department, making the courses culturally relevant for her students, who comprise first-generation Americans, immigrants, or refugees. These students come primarily from countries in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Her work has resulted in a 40% increase in her students’ reading scores. In addition, Keishia has been successful in helping many high school students gain fully-funded scholarships. In fact, she helped seniors win $6.7 million in scholarships in 2018-2019 alone.

Keishia says, as an immigrant to the United States herself, she has personally experienced the struggles of underprivileged students. She came to this country from Jamaica on a track and field scholarship. With her twin sister Dr. Treisha Thorpe, Keishia founded a non-profit organization called US Elite International Track and Field, Inc. The organization strives to help at-risk student-athletes from around the globe connect with college coaches to access fully-funded scholarships in the US.

“Every child needs a champion, an adult who will never ever give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the very best they can be,” asserts Keishia. “This is why teachers will always matter. Teachers matter,” she continues.

As part of her Global Teacher Prize, Keishia will receive a $1 million from the Varkey Foundation. In addition to this recognition, Keishia earned a Medal of Excellence from Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland for her work in influencing equitable policies in education. She also garnered the National Life Changer of the Year in 2018-2019 award, an honor given to teachers who inspire and go above and beyond for their students and exemplifying excellence, positive influence, and leadership.

Horror fiction is an unusual genre for a woman author, but Georgia teacher Kristi DeMeester is good at it

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Kristi DeMeester, a high school English teacher from Georgia, has achieved success as an author of horror fiction, an unusual genre for women authors. Photo credit: Kristi DeMeester

There are many outstanding teachers who have earned acclaim in fields outside of the classroom. One of these is Kristi DeMeester, a high school English teacher from Georgia who has also achieved success as an author of horror fiction, an unusual genre for women authors.

Kristi has taught grades 9 through 12 at Roswell High School in Fulton County, Georgia. In addition to teaching, she has served her school as the yearbook advisor and an assistant JV Volleyball coach.

A voracious reader herself, Kristi encourages her students to read, too. “I do feel that young people should read whatever they like without the fear of being shamed for what they are reading or told it’s beneath them or too smutty or too silly,” she says. “But I do think all young people should experience a book that moves them deeply and teaches them something about the world that exists outside of themselves,” she continues.

Kristi has published an impressive list of novels and short stories in the horror genre. Her novels include Beneath, published in 2017, and Such a Pretty Smile, published in 2022. She has also published two short story collections. The first is Split Tongues, published in 2016, and the second is Everything That’s Underneath, published in 2017. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellen Datlow’s The Year’s Best Horror Volume 9, Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volumes 1 and 3, and in publications such as Pseudopod, The Dark, Black Static, and others.

This talented educator and author earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education and her Master’s degree in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University.

Former teacher Lisa Cano Burkhead becomes Nevada State Lt. Governor

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Former English and Spanish teacher Lisa Cano Burkhead has just been named the 36th Nevada State Lieutenant Governor. Photo credit: lisafornv.com

Many fine classroom teachers have also distinguished themselves as capable politicians. One of these is Lisa Cano Burkhead, a former English and Spanish teacher who has just become the 36th Nevada State Lieutenant Governor.

Lisa was born and raised in Las Vegas. She is the daughter of immigrants. Her father was born in Argentina, and her mother was from Paraguay. Lisa’s parents came to Las Vegas in 1965 to give their children a better life and to pursue the American dream. Although her parents only had an elementary education, they emphasized the value of education in their children.

After her graduation from high school, Lisa earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish and her teaching credential from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. Then she returned to Nevada, where she spent a decade teaching English and Spanish in Clark County schools. Later she was named the Dean of Students and Assistant Principal at Eldorado High School. There Lisa worked with students and parents to develop leadership skills, enroll in AP and enrichment classes, and prepare to get good jobs or start their own businesses.

After a number of years working in schools, Lisa spent several years as Chief of Staff to Northwest Region Superintendent Richard A. Carranza, before returning to Fertitta Middle School as a principal. For the past six years, she served as principal at Foothill High.

For her work as an educator, Lisa was named Administrator of the Year by the Nevada Association of Student Councils in 2008. In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Public Education Foundation’s Best in Class Award for School Leadership, which honors high performance, strategic thinking, and innovation.

In 2021, after a career as an educator that spanned 25 years, Lisa retired from the Clark County School District. In December, she was nominated by Governor Steve Sisolak to replace Kate Marshall as the 36th Nevada State Lieutenant Governor. Lisa assumed office on December 16, 2021. In this position, Lisa plans to advance the causes of public education.

Way to go, Lisa!

Minnesota teacher Coya Knutson served in US House of Reps

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English and music teacher Coya Knutson was the first woman from the state of Minnesota to be elected to the US House of Representatives. Photo credit: Concordia College.

Many excellent classroom teachers also succeed in the political arena. One of these was Coya Knutson, a music teacher from Minnesota who was elected to the US House of Representatives.

Coya was born Cornelia Gjesdal on Aug. 22, 1912, in a farming community in Edmore, Ramsey County, North Dakota. Her parents were immigrants from Norway. After her graduation from high school, she attended Concordia College in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Education in 1934. Hoping to pursue a career in the opera, Coya attended the Juilliard School in New York City for one year. When her dream of a career in opera was not realized, she returned to Minnesota.

Once she returned to the North Star State, Coya married a farmer named Andy Knutson. The newlyweds settled on his farm near Oaklee and established a small local hotel. Coya taught English and music at high schools in the area and sang in local county fairs. In 1948, couple adopted a young boy they named Terry. Unfortunately, Andy was an alcoholic and prone to domestic violence. This led Coya to find reasons to stay out of the house.

In 1942, the young teacher heard a radio speech by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who urged women to become more politically involved. The call launched Coya into community activities and local politics. She became a field representative for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, a program designed to aid the war effort, and she joined the county welfare board. When Coya was elected on the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) ticket to represent Minnesota’s 9th District, she was the first woman from the state to be elected to the US House of Representatives. There the former teacher served two terms, legislating from 1951 to 1959.

Shortly after she left Congress, Coya divorced her husband. She returned to Washington and accepted a position as a liaison officer in the Office of Civil Defense in the US Department of Defense. She was employed there until 1970.

Sadly, this trailblazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on Oct. 10, 1996, in Edina , Minnesota. She was 84 years old.

Susan Rosato named Vermont’s 2021 Teacher of the Year

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Susan Rosato, an English Language educator from Vermont, has been named her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Linked In.

I enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Susan Rosato, an English Language educator from Vermont who has been named her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Susan currently teaches at Colchester High School in Colchester, Vermont, where she has been for 17 years. She began her career at the elementary level, teaching for five years at McMahon Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In all, her career as an educator has spanned 22 years.

Within the educational community, Susan has a reputation for being a fierce advocate for immigrant and refugee families, and she has dedicated herself to smoothing their transition from their home countries to the United States. To this end, she has created and implemented a “newcomer” class in her school. She teaches the school’s English Learner (EL) course, and she instituted her school’s EL summer school program. In addition, she developed the district’s EL professional development course for her colleagues.

During the pandemic when students were completing lessons via distance learning, Susan stayed connected with families and provided support so they could maintain access to their children’s education, figure out how to sign up for unemployment benefits, and update their health information. She also created instructional and multilingual videos to provide information about the reopening of schools.

“What I can do and what we can all do to make students’ dreams a reality is we can start breaking down some of these barriers that refugee and immigrant students and other minority populations in our country and state face,” declares Susan. “I believe that our curriculum needs to be accessible and free of cultural bias. We need to start from the idea about what students can do, not what they can’t do,” she continues.

Susan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the State University of New York at Cortland in 1991. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the State University of New York at Albany in 1994.

To read more about Susan Rosato, see this article about her published by the St. Albans Messenger.