Tag Archives: Language Arts Teachers

Former Language Arts teacher and Mississippi State Representative Sara Richardson Thomas

Posted on by
Sara Richardson Thomas

Former Language Arts teacher and Mississippi State Representative Sara Richardson Thomas.

Many fine educators who have made a mark in the political arena. One of these is Sara Richardson Thomas, a retired Language Arts teacher who has also served in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Sara was born in Indianola, Sunflower County, Mississippi, on April 21, 1941. Her parents were sharecroppers. After her high school graduation, Sara attended Mississippi Valley State University and Delta State University. Once she earned her college degree, Sara taught Language Arts in public elementary schools within Sunflower County, Mississippi. Her career as an educator spanned 21 years.

In 1998, Sara was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. She succeeded her nephew, Bill Richardson of Indianola, who succumbed to cancer while in office. Sara represented the 31st District for an additional 21 years. While in office, she served on the State House Committees on Education, Youth and Family Affairs, Ethics, Public Property, Tourism, and Agriculture.

Sara holds membership in a number of prestigious organizations, including the Mississippi Association of Educators, the National Association of Educators, the Mississippi Retired Teachers Association, the Mississippi Valley State University Alumni Association.

Way to go, Sara!

Sandra Deal: Retired teacher and former First Lady of Georgia

Posted on by
Sandra Deal

Former Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, a retired Language Arts teacher, has visited over 1,000 classrooms throughout her state to read aloud to children.

Many times talented educators find themselves navigating within the political sphere. This is true of Sandra Deal, a retired Language Arts teacher who is the former First Lady of Georgia.

Sandra was born Emilie Sandra Donagan in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia. Both her parents were teachers. Following her high school graduation in Gainesville, Sandra earned her college degree from Georgia College and State University. She then followed in her parents’ footsteps and also went into teaching. She taught Language Arts at public schools for over 15 years. When she retired, she was working as a sixth-grade middle school teacher.

Sandra is the wife of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, who served in office from 2011 to January, 2019. As Georgia’s First Lady, she became a strong advocate for literacy and education throughout the state. Through her Read Across Georgia project, Sandra visited every one of Georgia’s 159 counties to read to students. Over the course of her husband’s eight years in office, she visited more than 1,000 classrooms, sometimes as many as eight in a single day.

On her classroom visits, Sandra read aloud to the children and encouraged them to use the library. “My goal is to encourage students to enjoy reading so that they will be prepared for a lifetime of learning,” declared Sandra. “Reading is the gift that keeps on giving, and education is essential for all children to succeed in their pursuits,” she continued. “I believe that knowledge is power, and when we teach students to love reading, we give them the confidence to learn on their own and acquire that power far into the future,” she concluded.

For her efforts as an advocate for education, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters recognized Sandra as their 2016 “Georgian of the Year.”

New Hampshire’s 2018 State Teacher of Year Heidi Crumrine

Posted on by
Heidi Crumrine

Outstanding educator Heidi Crumrine of Concord High School recognized as new Hampshire’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Outstanding educator Heidi Crumrine of Concord High School has been recognized as New Hampshire’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Heidi was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in New Hampshire. She is a graduate of Concord High School,where she now teaches.

This exemplary educator earned her degree in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her Master’s degree of Education with an emphasis in Teaching Reading from Grand Canyon University. In a career as an English teacher that spans 16 years, Heidi has devoted 13 of them to her alma mater, Concord High School. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Heidi coaches field hockey at nearby Rundlett Middle School.

“Every day I enter the classroom with a focus on what is important: the young people in front of me who are our best hope for our future,” remarks Heidi. “To spark a love of reading for a young person is to set in motion a pathway for success that will follow her wherever she goes,” she says.

Concord’s principal Mr. Tom Sica can’t praise Heidi enough. “Heidi has invested herself in creating an environment in which students are known and valued. Her knowledge of curriculum and of student learners are key elements which help to explain why her students thrive and succeed,” Sica asserts. “Consistently, she works to develop and implement lessons that engage students and challenge them to think critically,” he concludes.

Congratulations, Chalkboard Champion Heidi Crumrine.

Rosie Reid named California Teacher of the Year, 2019

Posted on by

Congratulations to Rosie Reid, an outstanding educator from Walnut Creek, California, who has just been named a California Teacher of the Year for 2019.

Rosie’s career has spanned 16 years, the last two at Northgate High School in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. She was the first in her family to go to college. She credits this achievement to her teachers, and says she decided to become a teacher to pay this forward.

Rosie, a Language Arts teacher, is a member of the English Learner Review Team which monitors English-language learners and mentors ESL teachers. Most recently, Rosie founded and leads an equity task force at her high school. “I strive to be a status quo disruptor and an agent of social justice, while engaging in a rigorous, standards-based English curriculum,” declares Rosie. “So often teachers feel that if they are thinking about issues of equity and implicit bias, they must compromise rigor in order for all students to be successful; in fact it is by helping our most socially marginalized students develop literacy (and numeracy) skills that we may achieve social equity,” she asserts.

Rosie employs a number of strategies to achieve success in her classroom. She uses standardized test data to view individual student progress, identify patterns with groups of students, and remediate achievement gaps for marginalized students. In addition, she invites guest speakers to come to her classroom, and she designs real world projects to give her students a broader perspective. In order to encourage participation from all students, Rosie requires daily practice of language skills. To ensure inclusivity, she selects materials from a diverse range of authors and articles about relevant and compelling social issues so that every student sees themselves in the coursework, feels the work is important, and realizes how much their voices matter.

Rosie Reid: a true chalkboard champion.

Washington’s Mandy Manning named 2018 National Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Mandy Manning

Mandy Manning of Spokane, Washington, named the 2018 National Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations to exemplary educator Mandy Manning of Spokane, Washington, who has been named the 2018 National Teacher of the Year.

Mandy teaches English to newly-arrived immigrant students in the Newcomer Center at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane.

As 2018 National Teacher of the Year, Mandy says she would like to encourage educators to teach their students to overcome their fears and seek out new experiences. “Let’s teach our students to be fearless,” she declares. “Let’s teach them to be brave when confronted with uncertainty. Brave when they fail. Brave in meeting new people. Brave in seeking opportunities to experience things outside of their understanding,” she continues.

In her classroom, Mandy designs lessons that help her students process trauma, celebrate their home countries and culture, and learn about their new community.Mandy says she makes it a priority to create connections between her students and the community inside and outside of the school. She has invited district leaders, campus resource officers, community members of color, and professional writers to visit her classroom. These visits help her students learn cultural expectations and how to express themselves effectively. In return, her students teach these leaders where they come from, who they are, and the contributions they make to the community.

“All of us together make this world interesting and good. We must teach our students to overcome their fears and seek out new experiences. The only way to teach fearlessness is to show it. We must show kindness by getting to know our students, learning about them, and showing them how to connect,” Mandy asserts.

Mandy earned a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University, her Master’s degree from West Texas A & M University, and a second Master’s degree from Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. In addition, Mandy is a National Board Certified Teacher. This amazing educator inaugurated her career in the teaching profession when she worked for the Peace Corps in Armenia in 1999. She then spent several years working as a teacher and assistant teacher in schools in Japan and across the U.S. Mandy has taught for the past 19 years, seven of which have been in her current position.

In addition to recognition as the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, Mandy has earned the National Education Association Foundation’s California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2017 and the Kim Plemons Leadership Award from the Spokane Education Association in 2015.