During this weekend’s annual Memorial Day observances, I am reminded that many our nation’s educators are also veterans. One of my favorite Chalkboard Heroes is Henry Alvin Cameron, a high school science teacher from Nashville, Tennessee. He was not only a leader in the African American community in the early days of the 20th century, but he was also a veteran of World War I. Below is a digital story I created to tell you more about this heroic historical figure.
Here is an inspirational video about resilience, for both teachers and students. The message was delivered by Sequoia Aldridge at the 8th Annual Teach for America Gala in Washington, DC, in 2018. This exceptional educator knows a great deal about her topic, having lost her mother when she was only 11 years old.
Sequoia distinguished herself with a career in the US Marines that spanned 30 years and included combat deployment in Iraq. Once she retired from the military, she became a middle school science teacher through Teach for America. Sequoia is a true Chalkboard Champion, through and through.
Here is more about her story from Sequoia herself.
Elementary science teacher Autumn Rivera has been named Colorado’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: CPR News
I always enjoy spreading the good news about exceptional educators who have won accolades for their work in the profession. One of these is Autumn Rivera, an elementary school teacher who has been named Colorado’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year.
Autumn teaches sixth grade science at Glenwood Springs Middle School in Glenwood Springs. She is also an adjunct professor at Colorado Mountain College. Her career as an educator spans 17 years.
It makes sense that Autumn should win this award. Her expertise in the classroom is well-known among her colleagues. “The amount of stuff she does really well is what the really crazy part is,” asserts Joel Hathaway, Principal of Glenwood Springs Middle School. “The fact that she can, day after day, class after class, build relationships with kids, get kids excited about science, be so enthusiastic, have super effective lessons and engagement and do all the millions of things that she does for this school, this community, the district and the state is amazing,” Hathaway continues.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Autumn fulfills the role of Science Lead, and she is the track coach at her school. She serves on the Colorado Science Conference planning committee and the Colorado Science Education Network Steering Committee. She is the Region 3 Elementary Board representative for the Colorado Association of Science Teachers, and she has conducted professional development courses at the Roaring Fork EdTech Summit and the Colorado Science Conference. She also volunteers with the American Association of Chemistry Teachers.
Autumn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and her Master’s degree in Teaching Secondary Science, both from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She earned an additional Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
Congratulations, Autumn!
High school biology teacher Harlan Kredit of Lynden, Washington, teaches fish and wildlife conservation. Photo credit: Everipedia
Often remarkable educators extend their talents well beyond the classroom. This is the case with Harlan Kredit, an award-winning biology teacher from the state of Washington.
Harlan was born and raised near Fishtrap Creek in Lynden, Washington. Following his high school graduation, he attended Calvin College, a private liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he graduated in 1961. Later, Harlan earned his Master’s degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
After earning his degrees, Harlan taught science in Hudsonville, Michigan, from 1962 to 1972. In 1973, he returned to Whatcom County in Washington and accepted a position as a biology teacher at Lynden Christian High School in Bellingham. In the classroom, Harlan fostered an investigative approach to curriculum, and emphasized leadership and fish and wildlife conservation. “My goal each year is to challenge every class with a special project, which, due to their effort, becomes something they own—that is the ‘hook’ I use to engage them. It also becomes a means of giving something back to the community, both now and in the future,” Harlan once expounded. “Using the outdoors as a major part of my teaching focus blends with the interests of the students, is real science, and the excitement of the students has validated that approach.” Harlan organized his students in a salmon restoration project, a tree planting project, and a litter disposal campaign in his home town.
In addition to teaching, Harlan spends his summers as a ranger naturalist and wildfire fighter at Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, and he has also served the National Park Service as a photographer. Furthermore, Harlan educated fellow teachers at the American Wilderness Leadership School in Jackson, Wyoming.
Harlan has been recognized with over 25 awards and honors for his work as an educator and as a in conservation ecologist, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and the National Conservation Teacher of the Year in 2004. In 2005, he received a Walt Disney Company Teacher Award. Additionally, Harlan has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.
Now 83 years old, Harlan continues to teach.
Washington DC educator Sheri Frierson-Chenier has garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Photo Credit: Sheri Frierson-Chenier
It is always a pleasure to share news about a fellow educator who has earned accolades for their work in the profession. Today I can share that Washington DC teacher Sheri Frierson-Chenier has garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Sheri, who is originally from Los Angeles, California, once revealed that becoming a teacher was her childhood dream. Her career as an educator has spanned 15 years. She inaugurated her work in the classroom at Glenn Dale Elementary School in Glenn Dale, Maryland, where she taught kindergarten for three years. She has also taught third grade. Currently she teaches fifth grade and works as a STEM Coordinator at Kimball Elementary School in Washington, DC, where she had been employed for the past 12 years. There she also advises student programs such as the Robotics Club, the Science Fair, the STEM Career Fair, and the STEM Expo.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Sheri chairs the school’s Personnel Committee, the Local School Advisory Team, and the Academic Leadership team. And as if all that were not enough, she was a Fellow of DC Teaching is Central to Learning (TCTL), a program which enabled her to engage in professional development to understand the role of education policies and programs designed to improve teaching and learning.
Sheri’s PAEMST is not the only recognition she has earned. In 2018, she was a finalist for DC Public Schools Teacher of the Year, and in 2020, she was a finalist for the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education Teacher of the Year.
Sheri earned her Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in Human Development in 2006, and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education in 2012, both from Howard University.
