Tag Archives: Secondary Teachers

Mary Catherine Swanson: The innovative teacher who created the AVID program

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Mary Catherine Swanson

Mary Catherine Swanson, original developer of the AVID program.

Back in 1980, Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, suddenly faced a court-ordered integration order. Teachers at the predominantly white, suburban, middle-class school knew that their incoming minority students would need extensive remediation. As Clairemont’s staff scrambled for ways to meet the needs of these students, one innovative staff member came up over with a groundbreaking idea. That staff member was English teacher Mary Catherine Swanson.

Mary Catherine believed strongly that with appropriate academic tools and support, minority and other under-represented students could succeed in a rigorous academic atmosphere just as well as their Clairemont classmates. To meet their needs, she developed an innovative instructional program called Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). The program trained students in strategies for note-taking and test-taking, offered peer mentoring and tutoring, and sponsored cultural field trips.

Mary Catherine’s efforts produced astonishing results. Since the program’s inception, over 400,000 students have participated in the training. The program is so successful that today over 5,000 high schools in 45 states and 16 countries around the world have implemented it. Statistics show that of those students enrolled in AVID, 95% go on to enroll in a four-year college, and 85% of them graduate. To learn more about the AVID program, go to www.avid.org.

The overwhelming success of Mary Catherine’s work has earned her many honors. Among them are an A+ Award for Reaching the Goals of America 2000 from the US Department of Education; the EXCEL Award for Excellence in Teaching; and the Salute to Excellence from the American Association for Higher Education. She has also been recognized with the UC San Diego Remarkable Leader in Education Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award by the UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association. She has also been recognized with honorary doctorates from UC San Diego and the University of LaVerne.

Mary Catherine Swanson: truly a chalkboard champion.

New York’s Joe Lamas: Educator and Former NFL Player

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Many former athletes go on to successful careers as educators and coaches. This is the case with Joseph Francis Lamas, a New York teacher who formerly had been a player in the National Football League (NFL).

Joe Lamas was born on January 10, 1916, in Havana, Cuba. As a young man, he attended Straubenmuller Textile High School in New York City, New York. Following his high school graduation, Joe enrolled at Mount St. Mary’s University, a private Catholic institution of higher learning located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. There he played college football.

Following his education at Mount St. Mary’s, Joe played one season in the NFL. In the 1942 season, he played on the offensive line with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he started in eight games. During the game against the Detroit Lions on November 8, the 5’10”, 216-pound guard scored a spectacular 29-yard fumble recovery touchdown, leading his team to a 34-7 victory. Joe is also a United States veteran. When the 1942 football season ended, he served in the military during World War II.

In 1952, Joe accepted a teaching position at Iona Preparatory School, a private Roman Catholic boys’ school located in New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York. He was also the school’s assistant football coach for five years, and then he was named the head coach in 1957. He held this job until 1961. During his years at Iona, the former football player also coached baseball and worked as the school’s athletic director, and he also taught courses in Latin, history, and health. This accomplished educator retired from teaching and coaching in 1979.

Joe was 80 years old when he passed away on April 22, 1996, in Manhasset, New York. To learn more about him, you can click on SportsLifer Weblog.

Joseph Lamas: a chalkboard champion, certainly.

Spanish teacher and social commentator Lillian Greer Bedichek

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Lillian Greer Bedichek

Lillian Greer Bedichek

Skilled classroom teachers are often recognized for advanced accomplishments in their field. One teacher that fits this description is Lillian Greer Bedichek, a world languages teacher who is known for her contribution to awareness of social issues in the American Southwest.

Lillian was born in 1885 in Keachie, Louisiana, the daughter of James and Virginia Greer. In 1893, her family moved to Waco, Texas, because her father had accepted employment as vice president of Baylor University.

Upon her high school graduation, Lillian enrolled at Baylor, but later she transferred to the University of Texas. There she majored in Greek and minored in Latin. Lillian earned her Bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1903. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of Texas in 1926.

In 1910, Lillian married celebrated naturalist Roy Bedichek. Before her marriage, the young educator taught in Waco public schools, at Grayson College, and in Deming, New Mexico. When she became pregnant with her first child, Lillian took a break from the classroom. Before long, two additional children were born to the couple.

In 1917, Lillian returned to the classroom when she accepted a position as a Spanish teacher at Austin High School. Eventually, she became the chair of the Spanish Department there. She even published a textbook, Mastering Spanish, in 1945.

Outside of the classroom, Lillian joined a network of educators, folklorists, and writers who were active in raising awareness about social and cultural issues of the American Southwest. She contributed to the movement by writing book reviews and publishing articles about life in the Southwest, including her concerns about sharecropping and land ownership. For her efforts, Lillian was recognized in 1965 as an honorary member of the Texas Institute of Letters. In addition, the University of Texas distributes an annual scholarship named in honor of Lillian and her husband.

Lillian passed away in 1971 at the age of 86. She is buried in Eddy Cemetery in the city of Falls, Texas. To learn more about this amazing chalkboard champion, click on Lillian Greer Bedichek.

Mark Zubro: The Chicago teacher who became a best-selling author

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Mark Zubro

Mark Zubro

There are many examples of fine educators who have become successful authors. One of these is Mark Richard Zubro, a junior high school English teacher from Illinois who has earned a name as a celebrated author of bestselling mysteries.

Mark was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on August 9, 1948. When he was 13, his family moved to California, where the young boy was enrolled in Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic high school located in Riverside. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1966. Mark then enrolled in St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1970. Six years later, he earned his Master’s degree in Urban Teacher Education from Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. Mark was a teacher of English at Summit Hill Junior High in Frankfort Square, Illinois, in a career that spanned 34 years. He retired in 2006.

Mark’s novels have settings in the Chicago area of Illinois. His work has been widely praised as fast-paced, featuring engaging plots and well-rounded, personable characters. Typically treating gay themes, Mark’s longest running series features a high school teacher, Tom Mason, and Tom’s boyfriend, a professional baseball player named Scott Carpenter. The other series Mark is well known for is the Paul Turner mysteries, which are about a police detective from Chicago.

For his novel A Simple Suburban Murder, Mark earned a Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men’s Mystery. The Lambda Literary Awards recognize the best books published with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender themes.

You can read more about this talented educator and gifted author in this interview published by the Windy City Times.

 

Frank Caprio: The Former Teacher, Judge, and Television Personality

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There are many instances when masterful classroom teachers go on to find success in fields other than education. This is the case with Rhode Island’s Frank Caprio, a former social studies teacher who has earned a reputation as a fine municipal judge and popular television personality.

Frank was born on November 23, 1936, to parents who had immigrated from Italy to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1912. To support the family, the parents sold fruit from a pushcart on Providence’s Federal Hill. As a student in public schools, young Frank contributed income to the family by washing dishes and shining shoes. All during his childhood, Frank’s parents emphasized the value of hard work, the importance of education, and a commitment to service.

After his graduation from Providence’s Central High School, Frank earned his bachelor’s degree from Providence College. After he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, he accepted a position as a teacher of American history and government at Hope High School, a public high school on the East Side of Providence. The young teacher married and started a family. Then Frank decided he wanted to change careers and study law, so he enrolled in night courses at the Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.

The former educator began his career in the legal profession in 1965. Since 1985, he has served as a Providence Municipal Court Judge. His court is very popular in Rhode Island as a result of his highly acclaimed television show Caught in Providence, produced by his brother, Joseph Caprio. The show has appeared on a major local TV channel for three years and on a local cable channel for eight years.

Remembering his parents’ encouragement to be of service, Frank has established scholarships to benefit Rhode Island school children. The former educator named his scholarships in honor of his father, a man who had only a fifth grade education but, according to Frank, possessed deep wisdom and great perseverance. Frank also volunteers at local charities such as Boys Town of Italy, the Nickerson House Juvenile Court, and the Federal Hill House.

To recognize Frank’s many years of public service, the Multicultural Center of the University of Rhode Island honored him with its Lifetime Diversity Award. “Judge Caprio is the embodiment of the American dream, a man who understood that education and hard work unlock the doors to success,” expressed Robert L. Carothers, spokesperson for the University of Rhode Island. “Moreover, having succeeded as an individual, he turned his energies to helping others, especially the children of immigrants and minorities, find access to educational opportunities that would allow them to pass through those same doors,” Carothers concluded.

Read more about Frank at the link Judge Caprio or about his television show at Caught in Providence.