“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>St. Louis native Dr. Erlene Bass Nelson is the first and only African-American teacher from the St. Louis area and the State of Missouri who has been honored and inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame over the course of 19 years of inducting and recognizing exceptional teachers.
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“color: black;”>Nelson said she feels honored to leave a legacy of excellence to administrators, colleagues, students and families of both public school districts, St. Louis and Philadelphia, as well as to her own family and her parents, both birth and by adoption. “If teachers’ expectations set the bar high enough, students will succeed as well,” said Nelson.
The National Teacher’s Hall of Fame
inducts five teachers a year based on performance. It is located in
Emporia, Kansas at Emporia State University.
As Nelson made history as a St. Louis
native, she also made history in her adopted city of Philadelphia,
where she taught kindergarten for 52 years.
“I made a pledge to be the best
educator as well as person I could be,” said Nelson.
Nelson was educated in St. Louis at
Simmons Elementary and Sumner High schools, and was graduated from
Stowe Teachers College in 1951. She moved to Philadelphia in 1958
and began teaching kindergarten, retiring in 2008.
Prior to Nelson’s relocation to
Pennsylvania, she was intimidated by the reputation that East Coast
schools offered the best education. Her worries were put to rest
when she toured a classroom that had “Wednesday” spelled wrong on
the chalk board by a teacher.
“I had nothing to fear in the East
Coast schools,” she said.
Nelson said that when she was growing
up in St. Louis, teachers were not allowed to get married and have
children, so the only thing that mattered was the education of
their students. “St. Louis Schools were exemplary with high
standards for all students, especially in the African-American
schools, where students were groomed to be excellent,” she
said.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>Teaching remained a priority in her life even after retirement. She became an adjunct professor in the Parent University of the School District of Philadelphia, teaching a course focused on a character building curriculum for parents which she designed. This course focuses on the interaction of parents with their children.
“It begins at birth, and parents are
our children’s first teachers,” said Nelson.
Nelson’s teaching career allowed her to
observe children in preschool, kindergarten and first grade who did
not have certain necessary traits of character which should have
been established at home.
“I am an advocate for young people,
especially in today’s culture with so many adverse challenges
facing children,” said Nelson.
Nelson has created a great impact on
educational institutions nationally, with her research on
children’s character. Schools all over Philadelphia now display her
original banner which illustrates the affect of character-building
at birth, due to the $10,000 grant she secured that covered the
cost for placement in all Philadelphia public schools.
Nelson has received over 50 previous
recognitions and awards. In 2009, she received numerous
recognitions during World Teacher Day for dedicating over a half
century to the School District of Philadelphia. Among them, Gov.
Edward G. Rendell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
commended Nelson on her accomplishments and love for her
work.
Nelson continues to improve and extend
her crucial work as she motivates St. Louis, Philadelphia, the
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and other community
involvements.
“We in Philadelphia are extremely proud
of and grateful for her,” said Maxine Jones, principal of Charles
R. Drew Elementary School, in a recommendation for the National
Teachers Hall of Fame.
Dr. Arlene Ackerman, superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools,
also commended her highly, referring to her as “a little
dynamo!”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>The little dynamo is not done yet. “font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”> “I want to inspire other African-American students and teachers to excel and to be nominated for national recognition,” said Nelson. “I know many wonderful teachers in St. Louis who are very worthy of being inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.”
