Texas teacher Lalla M. Odom was one of the original founders of the professional organization known as the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (DKG). Photo credit: DKG
Many talented classroom teachers are also devoted to assisting their colleagues in their efforts to become better educators. One of these was Lalla M. Odom, an elementary school teacher from Texas. She worked to provide professional training and support to fellow women teachers through the organization Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG).
Lalla was born on April 8, 1874, the second oldest in a family of seven children. She was raised in Fayette County, Texas. As a child, Lalla was intelligent and ambitious. After her high school graduation, she attended first Waco Female College and then Baylor University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree when she was only 17 years old. Not content to end her studies there, Lalla enrolled in the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. After she earned her diploma there, she accepted a position as a music and math teacher at Willie Halsell College in Vineta, Oklahoma. There she met and married Edgar Odom. The couple returned to Texas, where they settled in Austin in 1917.
In Austin, Lalla accepted a position at Metz Elementary School, where it was apparently unknown that she was married. At the end of the school year the School Board threatened to lay her off because of her marital status, but her cause was championed by an open-minded superintendent. After a few weeks, the Board reversed its decision. Lalla became the first married woman to earn a permanent contract in Austin.
When school officials decided to establish the first junior high school in their district, Allen Junior High, Lalla was selected to head the Math Department there. To hone her professional skills, she went back to college, earning both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree at the University of Texas. She took additional graduate courses in education, government, and English.
In 1929, Lalla was one of 12 educators who founded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (DKG). Because of a long-standing custom in those days, women were prohibited from meeting together professionally. Nevertheless, the founders believed there was a pressing need for an organization in which women educators could assist each other in their efforts to become better teachers. The 12 co-founders extended membership in their newly-formed organization to rural and urban teachers; preschool, elementary, high school, college, and university teachers; librarians; and school administrators. DKG members still work together today to improve professional preparation, to recognize women’s work in the teaching profession, and to fund scholarships to those who need support to improve their professional skills.
In addition to her work in the classroom and with DKG, Lalla was actively involved in city, state, and national political affairs. She also was active in professional organizations such as the Classroom Teachers Association, the Texas State Teachers Association, and the National Education Association.
This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on April 14, 1964. She was interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.
To learn more about the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, click on this link: DKG.
