Tag Archives: Teacher Politicians

Retired educator Lenton Malry served in the NM House of Reps

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Retired teacher and administrator Lenton Malry served his community as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Photo Credit: History Makers

Many outstanding educators also serve their communities as politicians. One of these is Lenton Malry, a retired teacher and administrator from New Mexico who once served in his state’s House of Representatives.

Lenton was born on Sept 31, 1931, in Keithville, Louisiana, the son of farmers. In 1948, he graduated from Central Colored High School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Louisiana’s Grambling College in 1952. In 1957, Lenton earned his Master’s degree from Texas College in Tyler, Texas. In 1968, he completed the requirements for his PhD from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In fact, he was the first African American to earn a PhD from that institution.

Lenton is also a US veteran. After he earned his Bachelor’s degree, he enlisted in the US Air Force, where he served in the Education Office at RAF West Drayton. The base is located in the London borough of Hillingdon, which served as the main center for military air traffic control in the United Kingdom at the time.

The former military man inaugurated his career as an elementary school educator at Douglas High School in Sherman, Texas. Later he worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Kinlichee School on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, and later in the Gallup-McKinley County School District in New Mexico.

In 1962, Lenton moved to the secondary level when he accepted a position at Lincoln Junior High in Albuquerque. Two years later, he was named the principal of John Marshall Elementary School, and four years after that, he served at La Mesa Elementary School. From 1975 until his retirement in 1987, Lenton served as the Equal Opportunity Director for the Albuquerque School District. Interestingly, Lenton was the first African American man to teach in New Mexico, and the first to serve as a principal in the Albuquerque district.

Once he completed retired, Lenton decided to go into politics. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to the New Mexico House of Representatives. He served in that body from 1969 to 1979. While there, he advocated for better resources for public education and for universal kindergarten.

In 2016, Lenton became a published author, when his autobiography, Let’s Roll this Train, was released by the University of New Mexico Press. This volume earned him the Father Thomas Steele History Award from New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in 2017.

This was not the only recognition Lenton earned.  He received the University of New Mexico’s Living Legend Award in 2007, and he was inducted into Grambling State University’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Lenton Malry: A true Chalkboard Champion.

Former elem teacher Jennifer Pawlik serves in the Arizona House of Representatives

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Former elementary school teacher Jennifer Pawlik now serves in the Arizona State House of Representatives. Photo Credit: Jennifer Pawlik

Many fine educators also serve their communities as politicians. One of these is Jennifer Pawlik, a former elementary school teacher from Arizona who currently serves in the State House of Representatives.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University in 1996. In 2010, she earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction through a collaborative cohort between Northern Arizona University and Chandler Unified School District.

After completing her education, Jennifer became a teacher. She worked in public schools for more than two decades, the last nine in the Chandler Unified School District. As a classroom teacher, Jennifer served as a member of the Chandler Education Association, where she represented elementary school teachers in the bargaining process for improved contracts and better benefits. Currently, she teaches  undergraduate students in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, Chandler-Gilbert Community College campus.

While a teacher, Jennifer also became an active leader in her community. She served as Secretary of the Legislative District 17 Democrats, she was a former Precinct Committeeman in the Emmett precinct, and she was elected a State Committee member. After becoming involved in local campaigns in 2014, Jennifer was encouraged to apply to Emerge Arizona, a six-month program that trains Democratic women to hold public office. She graduated from the program in 2015. Next, Jennifer participated in the Leading for Change program in the spring of 2016. During the spring of 2018, she was honored to be named as a Flinn-Brown Fellow.

Jennifer inaugurated her career as a politician in 2018 when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent District 17 in the Arizona House of Representatives. In November, 2022, she was re-elected to the State House, this time representing District 13. There she serves on the Committees for Education, Judiciary, Government and Elections, and Ways and Means.

 

Educator Ruth Chickering Clusen was also a capable public servant

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High school educator Ruth Chickering Clusen was also a capable politician and public servant. Photo credit: Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame

Throughout our history, many accomplished educators have also distinguished themselves as civic leaders and political activists. Such is certainly the case with Ruth Chickering Clusen, a high school teacher who also served as the President of the League of Women Voters and as an Assistant Secretary in the US Energy Department.

Ruth Chickering was born in 1922 in the little town of Bruce, Rusk County, Wisconsin. Upon her high school graduation from Eau Claire, she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education. Even before graduating from college, Ruth was working as a teacher. She spent her first two years teaching on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana, and she taught in public schools in the Green Bay area from 1947 to 1958.

Ruth met her future husband, Donald Clusen, when he was interviewed by her father for a teaching position at the old Wisconsin School for Boys in Waukesha County.They married a few years later, and later settled with their two daughters in Green Bay, where Donald had accepted a position as a teacher at the state reformatory.

Ruth served as the president of the League of Woman Voters. She served in this capacity from 1974 to 1978. During those years, Ruth worked to bring environmental issues to national attention. She was especially concerned with water purity, particularly the condition of Green Bay, where water pollution was pervasive. Ruth also campaigned for women’s rights, working tirelessly but unsuccessfully to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. During the election year, she moderated debates between candidates Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.

Once Carter was elected president, he appointed Ruth Assistant Secretary of Energy, a position she held from 1978 to 1981. There she worked to reduced fossil fuel consumption at the Energy Department. For her efforts, Ruth was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 2001.

After leaving the Energy Department, Ruth returned to her roots as an educator. She became a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin, where she worked from 1983 to 1992.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away March 14, 2005, in Bellevue, Wisconsin, from complications due to Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 82 years old.

Connecticut teacher Miguel Cardona now serves as US Secretary of Education

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Former Connecticut elementary teacher Miguel Cardona now serves as the US  Secretary of Education. Photo credit: Hop, Skip, Drive

Many excellent educators also make excellent politicians. One of these is Miguel Cardona, an elementary school teacher from Connecticut who is currently serving as United States Secretary of Education.

Miguel describes his Hispanic heritage as “half Guatemalan and half Portuguese.” As a child growing up in the Projects in Connecticut, he spoke only Spanish, which gave him a unique insight into the experience of students who identify as “English language learners” across the country today.

Miguel earned his Bachelor’s degree at Central Connecticut State University in 1997. He earned his Master’s degree in Bilingual/Bi-Cultural Education from the University of Connecticut, and in 2011 he earned his PhD in Education from the same institution. In addition, he completed the requirements for a certificate in the Executive Leadership Program.

Miguel inaugurated his career as a fourth grade teacher at Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut. By 2003, when he was only 28 years old, he was named the principal of Hanover School, also located in Meriden. He was the youngest principal serving in the state. In 2012, Miguel garnered the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for his state and the Outstanding Administrator Award from the University of Connecticut’s NEAG School of Education. He’s also a published author. He has published several articles in such prestigious publications as the AASPA Perspective, the National School Boards Association, District Administration, and the Scholars Strategy Network.

From 2015 to 2019, Miguel served as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in his home town. He also worked worked as an Adjunct Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Connecticut. In August 2019, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont appointed Cardona as the state’s Commissioner of Education, the first Latino to ever serve in the position.

President Joe Biden nominated the former elementary school teacher for the post of US Secretary of Education, and a coveted seat in the President’s Cabinet. On March 1, 2021, Miguel Cardona was confirmed to the post. He was sworn into office the next day by Vice President Kamala Harris.

To read more about Miguel Cardona, click on this link to Hop, Skip, Drive.

 

Long-time Alaska educator Joe Montgomery was also a veteran and legislator

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Long-time educator Joe Montgomery of Anchorage, Alaska, also served his country in WWII and two terms in the state House of Representatives. Photo credit: Pubic Domain

Many excellent educators prove themselves successful in the political arena. Joe Montgomery of Anchorage, Alaska, was a fine example of this. This teacher served his community as a member of his state’s House of Representatives.

Joe was born on Jan. 28, 1918 in Floydada, Texas. As a young man, he  had already survived the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. He’d dug sweet potatoes and peanuts, worked in the cotton and hay fields, milked cows, rode horses, and completed daily chores on the old farm.

After his graduation from Floydada High School in 1936, Joe earned his degree at Colorado State University in 1941. After his graduation, he traveled to San Francisco, where he took a job loading freight, earning the princely sum of $1.35 per hour. Then he decided to venture north to Alaska.

Once he arrived in Anchorage, Joe answered a newspaper advertisement asking for qualified individuals to apply for a teaching position. With winter coming on, he secured room and board for $60.00 a month at Mrs. Erickson’s boarding house. There he met his future wife, Ebba. Later, two daughters were born to the couple.

When World War II broke out in Dec., 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Joe enlisted in the Army Air Force and was selected for flight training. Over the four years of his military career, he flew a total of 35 missions as a B-17 pilot. He was discharged as a First Lieutenant in 1945. Once he returned from the war, Joe operated a successful businessman. For three years he owned a Chrysler Auto Agency, and then he returned to the classroom.

After a number of years in the classroom, Joe also served as a counselor, a principal, and finally as the Superintendent of Anchorage Public Schools, a position he held for seven years. He retired from the teaching profession in 1977, after serving a total of 32 years as an educator.

In 1980, Jose was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. He served there from 1980 to 1984. He was also a member of the Alaska State Board of Education, the Alaska Parole board, the Beverage Control Board, the Pioneers of Alaska, and other civic organizations.

Joe passed away from natural causes on Oct. 5, 2013, in Anchorage. He was 95 years old.