As a secondary English Language Arts Curriculum coach, Tamara Wells oversees the educational programming of six middle schools and three high schools in the Hazelwood School District. Her position focuses heavily on classroom observations and data-driven research in order to create curriculu…

Special education teacher Rhea M. Willis has spent her 31-year teaching career serving the needs of students in St. Louis County Special Education District and in St. Louis Public Schools, as a plan consultant teacher and a professional development instructor.

Reverend Raymond K. Robinson’s years in the U.S. Army, including three years abroad in Germany, taught him responsibility and accountability – skills useful to him working in university residence halls and academic advising.

Leslie Thomas-Washington worked in the Webster Groves School District before relocating with her husband to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she worked for several years in various capacities, as a classroom teacher, a school literacy facilitator, and as a reading intervention teacher. Then Hur…

Something students recognize right away about Kurly Taylor, a college advisor at Riverview Gardens Senior High School, is that he sees them for who they are, said senior Michael Crymes.

Kim Haywood Jr. serves as the science teacher for middle school and high school students at Lovejoy Technology Academy, a public school in Lovejoy, Illinois. One of his goals is to show students that there are opportunities out there in the real world. “My real goal is working with high scho…

Dorthea B. Nevils has served as an English teacher at her alma mater, University City High School, since the age of 21. Nevils has played many roles since joining the high school. Nevils worked as the English department chairperson, building union representative, class sponsor and in many mo…

Chauncey E. Granger was promoted to serve as the principal of Hazelwood East High School in July, and his first priority is to build relationships with students and families.

Bernard Long Jr. has served as the band director for Normandy High School since 2014 and is an adjunct professor of jazz drumset at Lindenwood University. All the while, he remained a student himself, earning his teaching certificate in Music Education and master’s degree in Music Education …

Early childhood teacher Andrea Scott often recites a W.E.B. Du Bois quote that goes, “Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.”

Two exceptional teachers will be recognized at The St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala. The Golden Apple award is presented each year to two Newspaper In Education (NIE) teachers that excel in the ways that they have integrated The St. Louis American newspa…

They are an assistant high school principal, a middle and high school science teacher, a high school band director, a high school English teacher, an advisor at a university, an elementary school principal, a secondary English language arts curriculum coach, and a high school special educati…

When 26-year-old Lorenzo Davis lost his job recently, he knew he had to do some fast thinking. He sent a quick text message to Jamie Dennis, director of the Save Our Sons program with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Moline Elementary School has two friendly greeters at the entrance of its building. They crawl around each other in a blue plastic baby pool lined with mulch and eat lettuce. Never mind that they’re turtles; it’s clear that everyone considers them part of the family.

Students start the school year by getting new schools supplies. This preparation is difficult for students who cannot afford it. Angela Keys starts the year by stocking up on school supplies that she can give away to the students who need them. 

Anya Gray Franklin was inspired to go into education by her mother, a St. Louis Public Schools teacher. Franklin grew up watching her mother fight for teachers’ rights, and when she got her degree in education, she always thought she would be an elementary school teacher in the same district.

Beginning with his time at Teach for America after graduating from college, Kevin M. Martin has always been passionate about making education equitable for all students and helping struggling students succeed. His lessons from his time there are ones he still applies now, as the assistant pr…

When she was a child, Latisha Smith and her siblings played school in their kitchen.