Tag Archives: Teacher Politicians

High School English Teacher Susan Dryden Whitson Served as Press Secretary for First Lady Laura Bush

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whitson[1]Many talented educators pursue successful careers outside the profession of teaching. One example of this is Susan Dryden Whitson, a high school English teacher from Birmingham, Alabama, who also served as the press secretary to First Lady Laura Bush. “Mrs. Bush and I are both educators, so we share the common belief that education and literacy are the foundation of opportunity,” Susan once said. “Working for Mrs. Bush has afforded me the chance to talk about the issues important to her, but which are also important to me.”

Susan earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education language arts from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, in 1991. As a young co-ed, she was a member of the War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen and the Student Government Association. After graduating from Auburn, Susan accepted a position in her native Birmingham to teach ninth and tenth grade English at Hoover High School. She was employed there for six years. While there, Susan was the ninth-grade English teacher to 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.

In 1997, at the end of a temporary summer appointment with then Representative Bob Riley, she was offered a position as his press secretary. She considered the offer “an opportunity too good to pass up.” In the eight years that followed, she served as a press secretary on Capitol Hill for numerous government officials, including two US representatives, a deputy director of the Office of Public Affairs at the US Department of Justice, a chief of the FBI’s National Press Office, and a deputy communications director for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign.  She was appointed by Mrs. Bush as the First Lady’s press secretary in 2005, and worked in that capacity until 2007.

The former English teacher currently serves on the Auburn Campaign Committee for the Washington metro area. Susan and her husband, Keir Whitson, live in Rappahannock County, Virginia.

“I’ve held a lot of titles over the years,” Susan once declared, “but the one I am most proud of is teacher.”

Talented Teachers Often Make Good Politicians: The Story of Carl Chester Van Dyke of Minnesota

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6922830_129108354311[1]Talented teachers often possess the personality traits that make them successful in the political arena. Such is certainly the case for Carl Chester Van Dyke, an elementary school teacher who went on to become a lawyer and then a United States Congressman.

Carl was born on February 18, 1881, in Alexandria, Douglas County, Minnesota. He attended local schools, and when he came of age, taught elementary schools in Douglas County from 1899 to 1901. It was in that year that he enlisted in the Minnesota Volunteer Infantry branch of the US Army, where he served as a private in Company B in the Fifteenth Regiment. He saw action in the Spanish American War. Carl was highly respected by his fellow veterans. In fact, in 1918, the former teacher was elected Commander in Chief of the US Spanish War Veterans.

Once he returned from military service, Carl attended St. Paul College of Law, which later came to be known as William Mitchell College of Law. Following his graduation, Carl was admitted to the bar in St. Paul. His leadership abilities evident, the former educator was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he served from 1915 until his sudden death on May 20, 1919, in Washington, DC. He was only 38 years old. After his passing, this gifted teacher, lawyer, and public servant was cremated and his ashes interred in a mausoleum in Forest Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Teacher Verda Welcome: An Accomplished Maryland Civil Rights Activist and Legislator

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msa_sc1545-2824[1]Many teachers dedicate themselves to social and political causes outside of the classroom, knowing that to improve opportunities for American citizens as a whole specifically helps their students in the classroom. One such teacher was Verda Freeman Welcome, a teacher, politician, civil rights activist, and community activist from the state of Maryland.

Verda was born on March 18, 1807, in Lake Lure, North Carolina.  She was one of fifteen children of farmers John and Docia Freeman. As a young girl, Verda attended North Carolina and Delaware public schools. The young scholar always planned to pursue higher education, but following the death of her mother in 1928, she found herself with limited financial resources to pursue her goal. Undaunted, she worked as a domestic during the day and attended school in the evening until she eventually earned her high school diploma. She once recalled, “I had to make the daily sacrifices needed to keep my dreams intact.”

In 1929, Verda moved to Baltimore and to continue her education at Coppin Normal School, where she earned her teaching certificate in 1932. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in History from Morgan State College in 1939, and she completed the requirements for her Master of Arts Degree from New York University in 1943. In her later years, she was awarded honorary doctorates from Howard University, Morgan University, and the University of Maryland.

During her youth, Verda learned first-hand that African Americans were often underpaid, undereducated, and underprivileged. She determined to make a positive impact on the black community as an educator, and so she taught in the Baltimore City Public Schools for eleven years.

In 1959, the dedicated teacher was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent the Fourth District. She was the first black woman to achieve that distinction. Verda served as a delegate until 1962, when she was elected to the Maryland State Senate, becoming America’s first African American female state senator. She served in the Maryland State Senate until 1982. Between the State House and the State Senate, Verda devoted a total of twenty-five years of service in the legislature. Significant among her accomplishments there was the passage of legislation dealing with such issues as discrimination in public accommodations, equal pay for equal work, the harassment of welfare recipients, illegal employment practices, voter registration, the abolition of capital punishment, and reforms in the state’s correctional facilities.

On the personal side, Verda married a physician, Dr. Henry C. Welcome, in 1935. The union produced one daughter, whom Verda named Mary Sue Welcome.

For her many important achievements in the area of civil rights, this chalkboard champion was inducted into Maryland’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 1988. Verda was 83 years old when she passed away on April 22, 1990, in Baltimore.

Teacher Charmaine Tavares: She Became a Maui Mayor

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mayor_soc_cropped_164[1]Many talented educators earn recognition in fields other than education, and Hawaiian politician Charmaine Tavares is a perfect example of this. For fifteen years Charmaine was employed as a teacher, coach, counselor, and athletic director in public schools on Maui. She also served as the mayor of Maui from 2007 to 2011.

Charmaine was born in 1943 in the town of Hana, on the island of Maui. She is one of three children born to Hannibal and Harriet Tavares, and is descended from Japanese and Portuguese immigrants who settled in the islands. As a youngster, Charmaine attended Kaunoa Elementary School and Maul High School, but she graduated from St. Anthony High School. After she finished high school, she enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the flagship campus of the University of Hawaii system.  The campus is located in Manoa, an affluent neighborhood of Honolulu. There Charmaine earned her bachelor’s degree in education in 1967 and completed the requirements for her teaching credential in 1970.

Charmaine’s career in education spanned from 1967 to 1982, when she accepted a position as the program director of the Upward Bound program for Maui Community College. She worked in this capacity from 1983 to 1989. The hardworking teacher served as the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for Maui County from 1989 to 1995. While there, she was instrumental in initiating the Pals program, an educational and recreational program for local children of working families.

The former educator was elected to the Maui County Council in 1996, and served on the Council until 2006. She was elected Mayor of Maui in 2006, and served in this capacity from 2007 to 2011, becoming well-known for her collaborative leadership style. While in office, Charmaine became an advocate for programs that supported economic growth, transportation, agriculture, and the elderly.

Charmaine Tavares, a true chalkboard champion.

Kimberly Ann Henry: The Chalkboard Champion Who Was Also the First Lady of Oklahoma

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kim-henry[1]Many educators are easily recognizable for their efforts in the political arena. One such chalkboard champion is Kimberly Ann Henry, a high school history teacher who also just happens to be the former First Lady of Oklahoma. Kimberly was born in Norman, Oklahoma, attended Shawnee High School in Shawnee, Oklahoma. After her high school graduation, she attended the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her bachelor of science degree in secondary education in 1986.

Kimberly began her ten-year career as a classroom teacher by joining the staff of her alma mater, Shawnee High School, in 1993. There she taught economics, US government, advanced placement American history, and Oklahoma history. Her talents as an outstanding educator were rewarded when, in 1999-2000, she was one of only five educators across America to receive the Close-Up Foundation’s Linda Myers Chozen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education. In addition to her work as a classroom teacher, Kimberly has been a strong advocate on behalf of troubled youth through her support of the Thunderbird Youth Academy.

When her husband, Brad Henry, was elected governor of Oklahoma in 2003,  Kimberly became the First Lady of Oklahoma. She served in this capacity from 2003 to 2011. While First Lady, Kimberly fought to make education a priority in Oklahoma, and has been particularly instrumental in pushing for increased early childhood educational opportunities in the state.  More recently, Kimberly has launched the MyTakeOnHealth Video Challenge which gives young people and students an opportunity to make video spots about health topics. She has also been actively involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Kimberly is currently serving on board of directors for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum.  She also previously served on the board of directors for Science Museum Oklahoma, Leadership Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Also, Kimberly is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Sarkeys Foundation, a private, charitable foundation dedicated to providing support through gifts and grants to Oklahoma’s non-profit organizations.

Kimberly Henry was honored with the Bill Lowry Library Champion Award for her work in literacy in 2004. The same year by she was named one of the The Journal Record’s 50 Most Distinguished Women. For her tireless efforts on behalf of the people of her state, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009.