Tag Archives: English Teachers

Missouri English teacher and author of romantic novels Michele Dunaway

Posted on by

Michele Dunaway of St. Louis, Missouri. She is an English and Journalism teacher and successful author of romantic novels.

There are many examples of excellent classroom teachers who earn accolades in fields outside of education. Michele Dunaway, an author of romantic novels, is one of these.

Michele was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 14, 1965, the elder of two siblings. The successful author says she knew she wanted to be a teacher and an author by the time she was a third grader at Mary Queen of Peace School in Webster Groves. As a teenager, Michele attended Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 1987. She earned her Master’s degree at Webster University, a private nonprofit university located in Webster Groves, Missouri, in 1996. While completing her education, Michele served on Kirkwood High School’s newspaper staff, her college paper, and a local music newspaper 

Michele inaugurated her teaching career as a junior high school teacher in Fenton, Missouri, where she worked from 1994 to 2000. She taught high school in Brentwood, Missouri from 2000 to 2001. She has taught high school English at Pacific High School in Pacific, Missouri, since 2001. She has also taught journalism at Francis Howell High School in St. Charles County.

When she was young, Michele often experimented with writing, but she didn’t attempt to publish until 1999. At that time Michele met with an editor who requested some samples of her work. Once the teacher provided it, the editor was eager to publish them. Her novels include A Little Office Romance, Taming the Tabloid Heiress, The Simply Scandalous Princess, Catching the Corporate Playboy, Sweeping the Bride Away, The Playboy’s Protegee, and About Last Night….

For her work Michele has earned many accolades. She was named the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association High School Journalism Teacher of the Year for 2012. To learn more about this amazing educator and author, read the article at the Webster Kirkwood Times. You can also check out her website at micheledunaway.com.

 

Washington, DC’s, Dr. Lillian Lowery: Educator extraordinaire

Posted on by
Lillian Lowery

Dr. Lillian Lowery: Educator extraordinaire

I love to share stories about teachers who have accomplished remarkable achievements over the course of their careers. One of these is English teacher Lillian Lowery: Educator extraordinaire. Originally from North Carolina, Lillian now hails from Washington, DC.

Lillian was born in Gastonia, Northampton County, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina Central University in Durham. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She completed the requirements for her Ph.D. in Education and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Lillian inaugurated her teaching as a middle school English teacher at Gaston County Schools in Gastonia, North Carolina. Before long she relocated to Alexandria City Public Schools in Alexandria, Virginia, then on to Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virigina, and then Fort Wayne Community School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. With each new position, Lillian expanded her experience as an educator, serving as a high school English teacher, an assistant principal, minority student achievement monitor, a principal, and an area coordinator.

In 2004, Lillian was appointed the Secretary of Education in Delaware, and then as the Superintendent of the Christina School District in Newark, Delaware. While living in that state, she also served as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. Next she moved to Maryland, where she served as the Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education.

In September, 2015, Lillian became the first President and Chief Executive Officer of FutureReady Columbus, a non-profit organization specializing in early childhood education located in Columbus, Ohio. In March, 2017, she was appointed Vice President for PreK-12 Policy, Research, and Practice at Washington, DC’s The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization working to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps in K-12 education.

For her work as an educator, Lillian has earned many prestigious awards. In 2015, the National Association of State Boards of Education honored her as the “Policy Leader of the Year.” This honor is awarded annually to a national or state policymaker in recognition of his or her contributions to education. Lillian has also garnered the Second Mile Award from the University of Delaware; Wilmington, Delaware’s Junior Achievement Award; the City of Fairfax Mayor’s Service Award; and the Outstanding Service Award from the City of Fairfax School Board. Lillian has also served on several organizational boards including, Delaware State University, edreports.org, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Lillian Lowery: Educator extraordinaire.

Teacher Aaryn Birchell honored as Utah’s 2018 Teacher of the Year

Posted on by
Aaryn Birchell

Teacher Aaryn Birchell of Uintah High School honored as Utah’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.

There are many examples of exemplary teachers throughout our country, and one of them is English teacher Aaryn Birchell of Uintah School District, who has been honored as the 2018 Utah State Teacher of the Year.

Aaryn hails from Vernal in Uintah County, Utah. As a high school student at Uintah High School, Aaryn organized 18 service projects for her school’s Honor Society, she coordinated a scholarship-writing workshop, taught ACT prep classes, and co-wrote the annual Senior Poem.

Aaryn earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Utah State University in 1999. After earning her degree, Aaryn became a volunteer at Utah State University’s Writing Center. She also worked as a substitute teacher for 12 years. When a part-time position teaching Advanced Placement sophomore English classes opened at her alma mater, Uintah High School, she applied for the position. She’s been teaching Advanced Placement Literature there since 2010.

Aaryn is a huge advocate for students. “Humanity is our greatest resource and we must invest and nurture all the beauty of potential as we send these souls to the world that needs their best,” she asserts.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Aaryn serves as a Board Member of the Uintah Literacy Commission. She also serves as the Director of the Vernal Storytelling Festival. She has also been a part of the Utah Education Association State Election Committee and has served as the Secretary for the Uintah County Education Association.

Bennie Berry: The compassionate teacher who adopted her student

Posted on by

English teacher Bennie Berry, a dedicated and compassionate English teacher in Beaumont, Texas, went above and beyond for one of her former students a year ago last November. She adopted him.

Anthony Berry was 16 years old when he entered Bennie’s classroom at Pathways Learning Center, an alternative school for troubled students. Feeling like no one on earth cared about him, the teenager had started to display some discipline problems. Anthony had been a foster child since he was 9 years old, and he had come to the conclusion that he may never be adopted. But when he casually suggested to his kindhearted teacher that she could adopt him, she actually considered the idea seriously.

Early in 2018, Anthony’s foster mother told the state she would no longer care for him. That’s when the teacher knew she needed to speak up. “Every kid deserves a chance to be loved,” Bennie says. She secretly filled out the paperwork, and by March, the youngster moved into her home. In November, 2017, on National Adoption Day, the adoption process was finalized, and she legally became his mother.

Bennie brings a lot to the table when she works with her students at Pathways. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English in 1996 from Lamar University in Beaumont. She earned a Master’s degree in Special Education in 2004, and a Master’s in Counseling in 2006, both from Lamar. And she earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Capella University in 2014. Capella is an online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bennie Berry: Living proof that teachers change lives.

English teacher and Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Alan Diaz

Posted on by
Alan Diaz

Former English teacher and Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Alan Diaz

I always enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have exhibited talents in addition to those they use in their classrooms. One teacher like this is Alan Diaz, a former English teacher who has also won a Pulitzer Prize for photography.

Alan was born and raised in New York City. He was the son of Cuban immigrants, who decided to return to their native island in 1964 when Alan was a teenager. When he grew to adulthood in Cuba, Alan became a school teacher, while at the same time studying photography.

In 1978, Alan returned to the United States, where he continued his career as an English teacher. He also pursued his passion for photography. In 1994, Alan worked as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press, and in 2000 he became one of their staff photographers.

Alan is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of armed federal agents seizing a terrified Cuban refugee child, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. The little boy’s mother had drowned off the coast of Florida as the two struggled to reach American shores. In the months preceding the seizure, Elian’s Miami-based relatives had been fighting for asylum for the child and his right to remain in the United States, despite the fact that his father in Cuba wanted him returned home. It was a battle the relatives ultimately lost, so the little boy was taken at gunpoint and sent back to Cuba. The gut-wrenching picture Alan took on that day earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

After a career for the Associated Press that spanned 17 years, Alan decided to retire in 2017. The former teacher still lives in the Miami area.

You can view his award-winning photograph and read more about this amazing educator and photographer at the Washington Times.