Tag Archives: Physical Education Teachers

Florida educator Connie Lane Lewis earns honors from DKG

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Florida educator Connie Lane Lewis has been named a Key Women Educator by the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Photo credit: DKG Alpha Kappa Chapter

It is always my pleasure to write about an outstanding educator who has made significant contributions to her learning community. Today, I write about Connie Lane Lewis, an outstanding teacher from Tallahassee, Florida. She has been named a Key Women Educator by the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (DKG).

DKG ia a prestigious professional organization that promotes the professional success of women educators. The organization works to improve professional preparation, to recognize women’s work in the teaching profession, and to fund scholarships for teachers who need support to improve their professional skills.

Connie Lane Lewis worked much of her career as a professional educator at Florida University High School (FSUS), a laboratory school sponsored by Florida State University located in Tallahassee. The school is often referred to as Florida High, although the facility actually serves students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. She taught there from 1971 to 2004.

At FSUS Connie taught dance, archery, rhythmic exercise, gymnastics, tumbling, and computer science to students at both the elementary and secondary levels. In addition, she served as the high school’s coach for track and field and cheerleading. Furthermore, she served as a choreographer for middle school and high school musicals at FSUS. In addition to her work in the classroom, Connie served as the Membership Chair for the Florida State Association for Health, Physical Education, and Dance. She retired in 2004 after 35 years of teaching.

In addition to the recognition she has earned from DKG, Connie earned a Florida State Service Award in 1980. She was named District Teacher of the Year at FSUS in 1988. She also earned a Florida Retrofit for Technology Grant in the amount of $200,000, and she was named a finalist for an Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award in 2001.

Even in retirement, Connie is very active. Currently she serves as the Communication Chair and Webmaster of DKG’s Alpha Kappa Chapter. In addition to DKG, Connie belongs to the Beta Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa and serves as the organization’s newsletter editor.

Connie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She earned her Master’s degree in Physical Education and Dance from Florida State University. She also earned a Certificate in Computer Science.

To learn more about the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, click on this link: DKG.

Basketball coach Mike Hilmer garners a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year honor

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Iowa basketball coach Mike Hilmer named one of 24 high school coaches by the National Federation of High Schools. Photo credit: Mike Hilmer

I always enjoy highlighting an exceptional coach who has earned accolades for his work with young athletes. Today I shine the spotlight on Mike Hilmer, an outstanding coach from Iowa. He has been named one of 24 high school coaches from around the country who have been honored as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the NFHS (National Federation of High Schools).

Mike was raised in Forest City, Iowa. After his high school graduation, he attended Cornell College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1991. Later he earned his administrative degree online through Grand Canyon University.

Mike inaugurated his career as a physical education teacher and boys basketball coach at Iowa’s Lincoln Central High School. He then completed stints at Estherville-Lincoln Central High School as a geography teacher and boys basketball coach.

In 1999, Mike accepted a position as a teacher of US History at North Linn High School in Troy Mills, Iowa. Additionally, he served as the Activities Director there since 2006. During his tenure at North Linn, Mike coached boys and girls golf, softball, and boys basketball. In the 16 years that Mike worked at North Linn, his teams have won 234 games and lost only nine. Since 2018, North Linn has reached the Iowa State Championship every year—an amazing seven consecutive seasons—winning a state title three times, including the year 2024.

Mike;’s prowess as an exceptional coach has not escaped attention. In the 33-year span of his coaching career career, Mike had been named State Coach of the Year six times. The is in addition to his recognition as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High Schools.

This year, Mike left North Linn to become the Superintendent of Bellevue Schools in Bellevue, Iowa. He has also served on the  Board of Directors of the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association for ten years, and the IHSAA Boys Basketball Advisory Committee for six years. 

Congratulations, Mike Hilmer: A true Chalkboard Champion!

Legendary girls’ basketball coach and PE teacher Dorothy Gaters garners many honors

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Girls’ basketball coach and physical education teacher Dorothy Gaters is legendary in Chicago, Illinois. Photo credit: Chicago History Museum

As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we pay homage to Dorothy Gaters, a legendary girls’ basketball coach and physical education teacher from Illinois. In fact, it has been said that you can’t talk about the history of high school basketball in Illinois without including legendary Coach Gaters in the discussion.

Dorothy taught and coached at her alma mater, John Marshall Metropolitan High School, in Chicago, Illinois. Her career began there at 1976, and spanned 45 years. She concluded her career with 1,153 wins and ten Illinois High School Association state titles. In addition, she served as an Assistant Coach at the US Olympic Festival in 1986, helping the South win a gold medal. After such a long and distinguished career, she retired in 2021, but she still works as the Athletic Director at Marshall High.

Dorothy fondly remembered her days as a student at Marshall fondly, having graduated from there in 1964. “There were 5,000 students here then; now, there are only 200,” she recalls. “There was no girls’ basketball team then, which was years before Title IX, which bans discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance,” she continued. “I didn’t have any real role models,” Dorothy said. “I just watched basketball on TV, but we had a very successful boys team, even when I attended.” And that love of basketball grew. After her graduation from high school, Dorothy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from DePaul University. “When I graduated from college, they asked me to come back here to teach and, shortly after that, there were intramurals—and that’s when I started to learn about the game,” she explains.

For her work as a coach, Dorothy has garnered many honors. She was selected as Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association seven times, and she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the National High School Hall of Fame in 2018. She was also named a recipient of the National Student-Athlete Day Giant Steps Award in 1998. Furthermore, the gymnasium at Marshall High has been named in her honor.

Dorothy Gaters: A true Chalkboard Champion.

PE teacher and community activist Cheryl Chow of Washington

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Physical Education teacher and community activist Cheryl Chow of Seattle, Washington. Photo credit: The Seattle Times

Many dedicated and talented educators make substantial contributions to their local communities. One who has done this is Cheryl Mayre Chow, a physical education teacher from Washington State.

Cheryl was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 24, 1946, the daughter of Chinese restaurant owners Ping and Ruby Chow. As a teenager, Cheryl graduated from Franklin High School, and then enrolled at Western Washington University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Teaching. Later she earned a Master’s degree in Administrative Management from Seattle University.

Upon her graduation from college, the neophyte educator became a physical education teacher. As a teacher, she was known for her toughness, high standards, and tenacious advocacy for children. Eventually she became a principal at first Sharples Junior High (renamed Aki Kurose Junior High) and then Garfield High.

Cheryl’s devotion to young people was very evident. Among her many achievements, she served as the Assistant Director for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, a girls’ basketball coach for the city parks and recreation department, and she also directed the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team. “Everything that Cheryl did, she worked to instill leadership among the girls and kind of mentor them for their adult lives,” remembers friend Lorena Eng. In addition to this work, Cheryl helped to form an outreach program for teens involved in Asian street gangs.

Cheryl also served as the President of the Seattle School Board and worked at the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In addition, she served two terms on her local city council.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away from a central nervous system lymphoma on March 29, 2013. She was 66 years of age. She is interred at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle.

To read more about Cheryl Chow, see this obituary at The Seattle Times.

Dick Ault: PE teacher and Olympic competitor

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There are many examples of fine educators who have distinguished themselves in the world of sports. Such is the case with Dick Ault, a high school physical education teacher who competed in the 1948 Olympics.

Richard “Dick” Francis Ault was born on December 10, 1925, in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, the son of the Herbert and Madeline (Dowling) Ault. After his graduation from Roosevelt High School in his home town, Dick attended the University of Missouri from 1946 to 1949. While there, he won the Big 6 title in the 220-yard low hurdles in both 1946 and 1947. In the seasons that followed, he garnered the Big 7 title in the same event in 1948 and 1949. He was also named the conference champion in the 440-yard dash in 1947 and 1949. In 1948, Dick competed in the London Olympic Games, finishing 4th in the 400-meter dash. In 1949, the former Olympic athlete competed in Oslo, Norway, where tied the world record in the 440-yard dash.

In 1950, Dick accepted a position as a teacher and coach at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois. While there, he led his cross country students to the state championship. In 1967, Dick was hired to be a physical education professor at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. There he coached several sports, including cross country, track, swimming, and golf. After a career spanning 29 years, he retired in 1996.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away from complications from diabetes at the age of 81 on July 16, 2007, in Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri. For his outstanding achievements, Dick has earned many honors. He was inducted into the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame (1976), the University of Missouri Hall of Fame (1991), the Missouri State Sports Hall of Fame (1993), and the National Sports Hall Of Fame in Washington, DC (1999).

To read more about this amazing educator and athlete, click on this link: Dick Ault Obituary.