Tag Archives: School Counselors

NJ teacher, counselor, and politician Priscilla B. Anderson

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New Jersey history teacher and guidance counselor Priscilla B. Anderson also served in the New Jersey State General Assembly. Photo Credit: ourcampaigns.com

Many excellent educators have also earned success as politicians. One of these is Priscilla B. Anderson, a public school teacher and guidance counselor from New Jersey who once served as an elected member of her state’s General Assembly.

Priscilla was born on Sept. 14, 1935, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After earning both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education, she worked as first a history teacher and then a guidance counselor in public schools in Trenton, New Jersey. Priscilla was known to have a special interesting young people and their contributions to the community. In fact, to recognize their service, she established the Willingboro Youth Achievement Awards to honor them.

Priscilla inaugurated her career as a politician in 1981 when she was elected to serve on the Willingboro Township Council in Burlington County, New Jersey. Subsequently she was elected mayor of the Township in 1984 and again in 1991. At that time she was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 7th Legislative District, where she served from 1992 to 1994. Priscilla was the first African American to be elected to the New Jersey State Legislature from Burlington County.

Once her term in the Assembly was completed, Priscilla served as a Commissioner on the Burlington County Bridge Commission. During her tenure, the Commission collected nearly $30 million annually in bridge tolls, oversaw a $41 million capital budget, and handled the county’s economic-development projects.

The retired history teacher and guidance counselor also published a book of local history entitled The History and Contributions of Black Americans to the Development of Willingboro. The volume has become an important resource for historians and sociologists studying her town’s history.

Today, Priscilla B. Anderson is 87 years old, and she resides in Philadelphia.

 

Florida counselor and teacher Vicky Puentes earns recognition from GMA, VRBO

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Counselor and former English teacher Vicky Puentes of Miami, Florida, has garnered special attention from the ABC show Good Morning America and she’s won a $20,000 prize from VRBO! Photo Credit: Miami High News

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who are rewarded for their hard work improving the lives of students. One of these is Vicky Puentes a counselor and former English teacher in Miami, Florida. She has garnered special attention from the ABC television show Good Morning America, and she’s won a whopping $20,000 prize from VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)!

In all, Vicky’s career spans nearly 20 years. For the past five years, she has worked as a counselor and college advisor at Miami Senior High School in Miami. Prior to that, she worked as an English teacher there.

Vicky’s dedication to her students is so evident. “The hours I put in here are never wasted,” declares the honored teacher. “Everything that I do is just to maximize someone else’s personal and human experience,” she continued.

As it so happens, Vicky graduated from that very same high school before she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Miami. Three of her four children also graduated from Miami Senior High, and her fourth is currently attending there.

Click on the link below to watch the six-minute video below to learn more about this Chalkboard Champion.

Good Morning America honors counselor and teacher Vicky Puentes

 

Teacher and school counselor Minnie Steckel worked diligently on social causes

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Teacher and school counselor Minnie Steckel worked diligently for social causes that benefited women and her community as a whole.  Photo Credit: The Sioux City Journal

Teachers are among the most civic-minded individuals in American society. They work diligently for social causes that benefit their community, and society as a whole. This is certainly true about Minnie Steckel, a teacher and school counselor who became part of the poll tax repeal movement.

Minnie was born on March 19, 1890, in Woodbine, Kansas. In 1906, she enrolled at Kansas Normal School in Emporia, Kansas, completing her course of study in 1913. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1917, her Master’s degree at the University of Chicago in Psychology in 1926, and her PhD from the University of Chicago in 1929.

While earning her degrees, Minnie taught school in Overbook and Burlingame, Kansas. She relocated to Iowa, where she taught in schools in Shenandoah, Blanchard, and Atlantic. By 1930, Minnie was working as a school counselor and the Dean of Women for Alabama College, a state-sponsored college for women located in Montevallo, Alabama. While there, she published many psychological and educational articles and books. She was also a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, the Alabama Mental Hygeine Society, the American Psychological Association, the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

In addition to her work as a counselor and author, Minnie conducted important research on the voting habits of women. She discovered that the low voting rate of women in elections was primarily due to the poll tax requirement, rather than their lack of interest in politics. This revelation launched her efforts to remove the poll tax, and to promote the rights of women to vote and serve on juries. She also worked tirelessly for the repeal of policies which prevented married women from working and for equal pay for women who did the same work as men.

Chalkboard Champion Minnie Steckel passed away on December 1, 1952. Following her passing, a scholarship for women was established by the Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs in her honor. To read more about her, see the article, 34 Notable Alumni of Emporia State University.

 

Teacher, counselor, and Civil Rights activist Norma Snipes Marcere

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English teacher and counselor Norma Snipes Marcere of Canton, Ohio, served as a pioneer of Civil Rights for women and people of color in her community. Photo Credit: The Repository

I always enjoy sharing stories about dedicated and forward-thinking educators who have served as pioneers of Civil Rights in their communities. Norma Snipes Marcere, a teacher and school psychologist from Ohio, was one such educator.

Norma was born on Oct. 21, 1908, in Canton, Ohio. She attended high school at Canton McKinley in 1926. After her graduation from high school, Norma worked her way through college to earn her Bachelor’s degree in 1929 in Elementary Education from Kent State University. She also earned a Master’s degree in Counseling there.

Once she completed her education, Norma applied for a teaching position in her home town of Canton. Unfortunately, a bigoted superintendent refused to hire her because she was an African American. Because of this incident, Norma declared her intention to work tirelessly for the rest of her life to advance the Civil Rights of women and people of color.

When she was denied employment in Canton, Norma went to Massillon, Ohio, where she accepted her first teaching position at Edmund A. Jones Junior High School. There she taught English. Later she moved to the Akron City School District, where she became the first African American counselor and school psychologist in the district. During her lengthy career, Norma founded Project Academic Excellence (PAX), a Saturday school run completely by volunteers to help inner-city minority students succeed in their academics. The program emphasized high expectations and tutored students in basic subjects, study skills, and ethnic cultures.

In 1976, Norma retired from the teaching profession and authored not one, but two, autobiographies. The first was ‘Round the Dining Room Table, published in 1985, and the second, The Fences Between, was published in 1989. In 1994, these autobiographies were transformed into a play by Lois DiGiacomo which was performed in front of an audience of more than 12,000 people.

The former teacher earned other accolades for her work in the classroom. In 1973, the Junior League named her their Woman of the Year. In 1980, she was awarded an honorary PhD from Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. In 1991, she garnered the Norma Award, an honor named after Norma Sigler Atkins Rowlands. In 1998, she earned the Sister Thea Bowman Medallion from the Office for Black Catholic Ministries of the Diocese of Toledo. In 1985, the Chalkboard Champion was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame.

Norma Snipes Marcere passed away on Aug. 20, 2004, in Louisville, Ohio. She was 95 years old.

Alabama teacher, school counselor Evelyn Anderson championed the rights of the mobility-impaired

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Alabama teacher, school counselor, and paraplegic Evelyn Anderson was a Chalkboard Champion for the mobility-impaired. Photo Credit: the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame

It is always an inspiration to read stories about individuals who have overcome challenges to achieve success in their life. One of these is Evelyn Anderson, a classroom teacher and paraplegic from Alabama who championed the rights of the mobility-impaired.

Evelyn was born on Aug. 2, 1926, in Greensboro, Alabama. She was only four years old when she was hit by a stray .22 caliber bullet, and the incident left her spine severed. For the rest of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair or a gurney. On this “rolling table” she would lie prone, with her lower body covered, propped up on an elbow. Despite her challenges, Evelyn graduated with honors from Judson College, with a double major in Art and History.

After she earned her degree, Evelyn began teaching art at Greensboro High School in 1948. In the beginning, her employment was unofficial because Alabama law prohibited severely handicapped individuals from working as teachers. However, due to Evelyn’s inspiration, legislation to repeal the discriminatory law was enacted in 1953. The following year, the trailblazing educator became the first severely handicapped teacher hired by Alabama public schools. In addition to this victory, she inspired the city of Greensboro to provide accommodations for mobility-impaired individuals, even before required by law.

After teaching for a few years, Evelyn returned to college and in 1964 earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Alabama. She then taught English and Spanish and served as a guidance counselor at Greensboro High School.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Evelyn worked to make major contributions to her community. 1977, she served on the Alabama Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. She was also a founding member of the Greensboro Friends of the Library.

Throughout her life, Evelyn earned many accolades for her work as an educator. In 1974, she was named an Outstanding Educator, and the following year, she was honored as the Outstanding Counselor of the Year. In 1977, she was recognized as the Alabama Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year.

After a career that spanned over 30 years, both official and unofficial, Evelyn retired in 1982. In 1976, Alabama Educational Television aired a short documentary film about her life as an educator and champion for disabled children. In 2011, she was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.

Evelyn Anderson passed away on Oct. 7, 1998, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, following a brief illness. She was 72 years old. You can read more about this Chalkboard Champion at Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.