Donna Gradel of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, has been named one of five educators to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. (Photo credit: Donna Gradel)

Congratulations to Donna Gradel of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who has been named one of five educators to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF). The group will be officially inducted on June 18, 2021, at a ceremony in Emporia, Kansas.

Donna taught Environmental Science at Broken Arrow High School from 1996 to 2020, a total of 24 years. She left the classroom to accept a position as the Dean of Academic Development and Innovation at Summit Christian Academy, a private school located in Broken Arrow.

The Chalkboard Champion has earned accolades for her hands-on work with students, leading them to develop a sustainable, low-cost, solar-powered, aquaponic system to help feed people living in poverty in Kenya. Many of her students traveled with her to Africa during the past summer to continue working on the classroom project, which also has provided safe, clean water for an entire village, as well as for a nearby elementary school and medical clinic.

“Donna Gradel is committed to unlocking the potential of her students by empowering them to solve real-world problems for the benefit of their global community,” remarked Richard Knoeppel, a 2019 NTHF inductee. “Her students are exposed to environmental issues and challenged to create solutions.  Always asking her students ‘what problem do you want to solve?’ gives them a sense of purpose and has shown them that their teacher has a genuine concern for them and is willing to be their champion,” he continued.

The honored educator was selected the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year in 2018, and she was a finalist for National Teacher of the Year honors in 2019.

To read more about Donna Gradel, see this story published by the Tulsa Beacon.

Williamina Fleming: Talented educator and honored Harvard astronomer. Photo credit: Astronomical Photographs at Harvard College Observatory.

I love to share stories about educators who have earned accolades for their work in scientific fields. Williamina Fleming, an immigrant from Dundee, Scotland, was one such educator.

Born on May 15, 1857, Williamina immigrated to the United States with her husband. The couple landed in Boston, Massachusetts. She was in her early 20’s  and pregnant when her husband abandoned her. After her son was born, Williamina was forced to find a way to support herself and her baby on her own. She took a job as a housekeeper in the home of Edward Charles Pickering, who happened to be the Director of Harvard College Observatory.

One day, Williamina’s employer became frustrated with the men he employed. In the heat of the moment, he yelled out, “My Scottish maid could do better!” While said in jest, there was a great deal of truth to his utterance. Williamina had been an advanced student while in Scotland. There she had been a pupil-teacher by the time she was 14 years old. She continued to teach for five years until she married.

In 1881, recognizing his housekeeper’s outstanding scholastic abilities, Pickering hired Williamina to be the first of what would become a famous group of Harvard Computers. All women, they studied the stars through glass plate photographs. A few years later, Williamina became curator of astronomical photographs. This role came with the responsibility of managing a dozen women computers.

While working at the observator, the former teacher devised and helped implement a system of assigning stars a letter according to how much hydrogen could be observed in their spectra. Her most notable achievement, however, is her discovery of the Horsehead Nebula in 1888.

Williamina went on to discover many stars and receive numerous awards and honors. She became a member of the Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America, the Astronomical Society of France, and an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. The Astronomical society of Mexico honored her with the Guadalupe Almendaro Medal. She was also named an Honorary fellow in astronomy at Wellesley College.

Williamina passed away from pneumonia in Boston on May 11, 1911, at the young age of 54.

Read more about this amazing teacher at ScientificWomen.net.

Rhode Island’s Elizabeth Russillo has been named her state’s Teacher of the Year.

I enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have earned accolades for their hard work in the classroom. One of these is Elizabeth Russillo, who has been named the Rhode Island’s State Teacher of the Year.

Elizabeth teaches chemistry at Smithfield Senior High School in Smithfield, Rhode Island. She has worked there since 2002. For the past ten years, this talented educator has been the chairperson of the school’s Science Department. In this role, she has developed innovative programs in her classroom. She even created a website with resources for blended and personalized learning. In addition to her classroom duties, Elizabeth has served her school as the Freshman Mentor Adviser, Student Council Coordinator, and tennis coach.

Elizabeth has made contributions to the educational community outside of her classroom. She has created videos teaching professional development to educators who wish to use technology in their classrooms. She has also worked with the Rhode Island Department of Education as a Rhode Island Learning Champion, helping to revise state graduation standards and rubrics. As an EdPrep fellow, she worked to improve educational pathways for future teachers. She writes regularly on the teaching profession and has served as a learning coach for educators around her state as a Highlander Institute Fuse Fellow.

In addition to her State Teacher of the Year honors, Elizabeth was named Smithfield Teacher of the Year in 2018, an honor that was symbolized with a Crystal Owl in honor of this distinction. Horace Mann recognizes educators for their outstanding work or a significant achievement in teaching.

To read more about this exemplary educator, follow this link to a story in the Providence Journal.