Chalkboard Hero Willa Brown Chappell: She Taught Tuskegee Airmen How to Fly

Many exceptional teachers use their instructional expertise to work with students outside of the classroom. Willa Brown Chappell, the first African American woman licensed to fly in the United States, is an excellent example of this.

Willa was born January 22, 1906, in Glasgow, Kentucky. She earned her degree in education from Indiana State Teachers College in 1927. She also completed the requirements for an MBA from Northwestern University in 1937. Following her college graduation, Willa was employed as a high school teacher at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana, and later as a social worker in Chicago.

Willa was always seeking challenges and adventures in her life, especially if they could be found outside the limited career fields normally open to African Americans at that time. She decided to learn to fly, studying with Cornelius R. Coffey, a certified flight instructor and expert aviation mechanic at a racially segregated airport in Chicago. Willa earned her private pilot's license in 1938. Later, Willa and Cornelius married and founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics at Harlem Airport in Chicago, where together they trained black pilots and aviation mechanics. Willa conducted the classroom instruction and Cornelius conducted the in-flight practice.

In 1939, Willa, Cornelius, and their friend Enoch P. Waters founded the National Airmen's Association of America. Their goal was to secure admission for black aviation cadets into the US military. As the organization's national secretary and the president of the Chicago branch, Willa became an activist for racial equality. She persistently lobbied the US Government for integration of black pilots into the segregated Army Air Corps and the federal Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), a system established by the Civil Aeronautics Authority just before the outbreak of World War II. The CPTP's purpose was to provide a pool of civilian pilots for use during national emergencies. Willa was given the rank of an officer in this first integrated unit. In 1948, when Congress finally voted to allow separate-but-equal participation of blacks in civilian flight training programs, the Coffey School of Aeronautics was one of a select few private aviation schools selected for participation. Later, her flight school was selected by the US Army to provide black trainees for the Air Corps pilot training program at the Tuskegee Institute. Willa was instrumental in training more than 200 students who went on to become Tuskegee pilots. Eventually, Willa Brown became the coordinator of war-training service for the Civil Aeronautics Authority and a member of the Federal Aviation Administration's Women's Advisory Board. She was the first black female officer in the Civil Air Patrol and the first black woman to hold a commercial pilot's license in the United States.

This remarkable educator and pioneer aviatrix passed away on July 18, 1992. In 2010, Willa was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Indiana State University Alumni Association. She was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in her native Kentucky in 2003.

To find out more about this remarkable chalkboard champion, you can read a chapter about her in my next book, Chalkboard Heroes, which has just been published and is available on amazon.com and the website for Barnes and Noble.

California's First Teacher: The Intrepid Chalkboard Hero Olive Mann Isbell

Pioneer and educator Olive Mann Isbell is a little known figure from California history, but she contributed to our state in a very big way. She is credited as being the first teacher in a school conducted in English in California.

In 1846, when Olive was only 22 years old, she and her husband, Dr. Isaac Isbell, traveled west in a Conastoga wagon as part of the Aram-Imus wagon train. The California territory had recently been severed from Mexico, and the Isbells arrived just as the Mexican army was poised to attack in an attempt to reclaim the land. To attempt to keep them safe, Olive and over two hundred American women and children were barricaded inside Mission Santa Clara de Asis, while the men were quickly drafted to defend the dilapidated fort. Inside the shelter, Olive, sensing the anxiety of the children, decided to organize a school to occupy their attention. The newly-arrived pioneer was well-suited to this work, being the niece of the famous educator Horace Mann and an experienced teacher from her home state of Ohio. With little more than a stick and sooty chalk, Olive conducted her lessons by day, and at night she nursed her fellow pioneers to health and melted down whatever metals she could find to make bullets.

When  Mexico finally laid down their arms and signed a truce with the United States on January 3, 1847, Olive's Santa Clara Mission School became recognized as the first American school on California soil. This mission school property now belongs to the University of Santa Clara.

You can read more about this amazing educator in my new book, Chalkboard Heroes, now available from amazon.com.

Nicole E. Lowen: Former Teacher and Member of the House of Representatives in Hawaii

There are many fine examples of talented educators who also become successful politicians. Such is certainly the case with Nicole E. Lowen, a Montessori teacher and a Democrat who currently serves as a member of the House of Representatives in Hawaii. Nicole has represented Hawaii's District 6 since January 16, 2013. District 6 serves Kailua-Kona, Holualoa, Kalaoa, and Honokohau.

Nicole earned her bachelor's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania, and her master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Hawaii. She has also earned a graduate certificate in disaster management from the University of Hawaii.

Her teaching experience includes teaching at Hawaii Montessori School from 1996-2007, working as a teaching assistant at the University of Hawaii Department of Urban and Regional Planning during 2011, and working as an admissions director for Hawaii Montessori School in 2012. She is obviously a strong supporter of quality education. "All children deserve access to a quality education," she has said, "... and our schools must be given the resources they need to shrink classroom sizes and get the job done."

In the House of Representatives, Nicole serves on the committees for Energy and Environmental Protection; Ocean, Marine Resources, and Hawaiian Affairs; Finance; and Water and Land.

In her spare time, Nicole is active with the Sierra Club. She has been a volunteer for the organization during 2011-2012 and served as a member of the Sierra Club's executive committee during 2012.

Teacher Samuel Youngs: The Inspiration for Washington Irving's Iconic Character Ichabod Crane

History abounds with school teachers who have earned fame outside of the classroom. Such is the case with Samuel Youngs, an American school teacher who was a close friend of famous American author Washington Irving. In fact, it has been speculated that Samuel served as the inspiration for the character of Ichabod Crane in Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Samuel Youngs was born December 4, 1760. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in the 4th New York Infantry Regiment led by Baron Frederick von Weissenfels. Throughout the war, Samuel served the fledgling American army as a guide over the roads and trails in the county around his home. He was one of a dozen native soldiers who were known as “The Westchester Guides. His father’s farmhouse, located near the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and Grasslands Road in Eastview, was the scene of a British raid during the Revolution.

After the war was won, Samuel served as a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly from 1796-1797, 1809, and 1810. Additionally, Samuel served as a Surrogate of Westchester County for terms of one or more years in 1800, 1807, 1810, 1811, and 1819.

The intrepid school teacher and veteran passed away on September 12, 1839. He was originally buried in the yard of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow in New York. There he was honored with other citizens of Tarrytown who fought during the Revolutionary War with a monument, pictured at left. The inscription at the bottom of the monument reads: "This monument is erected by Major General Aaron Ward, 9 division, N.Y.S.M. in testimony of his high appreciation of the services of a brave officer and a true patriot." In 1851, Samuel's remains were relocated to the Dale Cemetery in Ossining, New York. He was the first person to be buried in that cemetery.

Former Teacher Gabriel J. Campana Elected Mayor of Williamsport, PA

How astonishing is it that so many politicians were once school teachers? Such is the case for Gabriel J. Campana, an elementary school educator who has been the mayor of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, since 2008.

Gabriel was born July 6, 1963, in Williamsport, one of eleven siblings. His father, Dr. Louis F. Campana, was a local physician, and his mother, Rose Campana, is a retired nurse. As a teenager, Gabriel attended St. John Neumann Academy, a local parochial school, where he graduated in 1981.  Following his high school graduation, he earned his bachelor's degree from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and his master's degree from Wilkes University, a private institution located in Wilkes-Barr, Pennsylvania. He earned a doctorate degree in administration from the University of Sarasota.

For twenty years, Gabriel served as a fifth grade teacher at Stevens Elementary School in his home town of Williamsport. In addition to this teaching experience, he taught master’s degree classes at the College of New Jersey and he served as an adjunct assistant professor at Gratz College. In 2005, this remarkable educator was a recipient of the YMCA Racial Justice Award, and he has been named in Who's Who in American Education.

The talented educator also served on  his home town's city council. In November of 2007, he was elected the thirty-ninth mayor of the town of Williamsport. He ran on a platform of public safety and economic development. During his tenure as mayor, Gabriel continued to find time to work with young children. He is pictured here visiting Penn College’s Children’s Learning Center during the Week of the Young Child in 2008. The former teacher read a popular book aloud to the children and then gave a copy of the book to each youngster.

Still living on the same block where he grew up, Mayor Campana lives with his wife, Sonia, and their five children.

Terry Marzell's "Moonplay in Egypt" Published on WeSaidGo Travel Website

Like most teachers, I love to travel to intriguing and historic points of interest in both my home country and abroad. And just like many intrepid travelers, I wish I had the time and money to do more of it! Nevertheless, I feel very fortunate to be able to indulge in a semi-annual overseas vacation, because as a child from an impoverished family, I thought traveling was something only rich people could do. I never thought I would ever be able to muster the funds to go to any of the phenomenal places I was learning about in school. Fortunately, I have been able to quite a bit of traveling, actually.

It's been a few years now, but it seems it was only yesterday I spent two weeks in Egypt, one of the most captivating countries I have ever visited. When I returned, I wrote a little piece I call "Moonplay in Egypt," which not only describes an incident I experienced there, but also reveals an important life lesson. I'm very excited to announce that this piece has just been published on the very popular website for travelers We Said Go Travel.

The website was established by science teacher Lisa Ellen Niver, a talented and passionate writer, educator, social media ninja, speaker, and global citizen who has traveled to over one hundred countries and six continents. You might find her underwater, traveling to an exotic location, teaching in the classroom, or in print about social media, science education, lifelong learning, books, and travel.

To view the post and explore her website, simply click on this link: We Said Go Travel.

Rita Pierson says "Every Kid Needs a Champion"

Every once in a while I come across an inspirational video that just resonates. This is the case with the video below, a recording of Rita Pierson, an educator with forty years of experience in the profession. As she tells it, she once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" This video presents a rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, and personal level. Enjoy!