In her East St. Louis home, longtime educator Dr. Katie Harper Wright’s walls look like checkerboards of achievement. Every inch of wall space is covered with either a shiny plaque or framed photograph of Wright working alongside presidents, mayors and inspirational leaders.
Now 90, Wright has spent 70 years in either a classroom, a superintendent position or board member role in the St. Louis area, working to transform education. During her career, she advised President George W. Bush on special education, wrote curriculum that was modeled throughout the state of Illinois and traveled worldwide to make presentations on special education. She has won more than 150 awards and recognitions for her community service, professional education and journalism work.
“Deeply engrained within the fiber of my personal and professional philosophy is that each child is a unique and precious individual,” she wrote in a commentary. “I concur with the great philosopher (Jacob) Bronowski that children are not clones. They are individuals.”
On September 12, Wright will receive the 2014 Lifetime Achiever in Education award by the St. Louis American Foundation at its 2014 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala, to be held at the America’s Center Ballroom. The gala will begin at 7 p.m., following a reception at 6 p.m.
Wright has always been a “school person,” she said. At the young age of 16, Wright graduated from Vashon High School at the top of her class and went on to earn her bachelor’s in education at age 20 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1944, Wright landed her first position as a classroom teacher in East St. Louis School District 189, where she later served as director of special education, media director, and assistant and interim superintendent. There, she also authored the special education syllabus “Love is not Enough,” which was adopted by the Illinois Office of Education as a statewide model.
“I think special education has been my calling, and I answered the call,” she said.
Wright helped to establish the East St. Louis/Lovejoy Special Education Joint Agreement and wrote the program that brought millions of federal dollars for special education to East St. Louis. As a testament to her contributions in education, a school in East St. Louis – the Dr. Katie Harper-Wright Elementary School – was named in her honor in 2006.
Hanging on her wall is a photo of Wright pointing her finger at President George W. Bush while talking to him passionately. Wright laughed as she explained how she became appointed by Bush to serve on the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
“In that photo, I was telling him that we need to do something about education,” she said. “I’m surprised Secret Service didn’t throw me out. But I think that’s why the president picked me to be on his commission. We’re still good friends.”
Upon retiring from the East St. Louis School District 189 in 1980, Wright got a call from Dr. Henry Givens Jr., then president of Harris-Stowe State University, asking her to come teach courses on special education. She stayed at the university for 20 years and was eventually named an adjunct professor emeritus. While at Harris-Stowe, she revived the Kappa Delta Pi student chapter.
Wright earned her master’s in special education from University of Illinois and completed her certification in media, photography and special education administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She also holds a doctorate in special education and political science from Saint Louis University.
Throughout her career, Wright blazed many trails, becoming the first woman or African American to hold a leadership position in numerous boards and organizations – from the Girl Scouts to the East St. Louis Public Library board. Wright was the first woman to serve as assistant superintendent of the East St. Louis School District 189. She was the first black person to serve on the St. Clair County Mental Health Board and the first African American to become board president. She still is heavily involved in addressing mental health issues through her work on the board. She was the first East St. Louisan to be elected as a member of MENSA, a high IQ society.
She has given numerous presentations throughout the country and world, including in China, Russia, Europe, Japan and South Africa, and has written for professional educational journals. The Dr. Katie Harper Wright Papers are archived at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.
She is also a member of the Vashon High School, Illinois Senior and Pan Hellenic Halls of Fame.
Wright has hardly slowed down. On top of her current work in mental health, she is active in the United Way of Greater St. Louis, NAACP, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and several other organizations.
“I belong to everything except the dog catchers,” she said. “I’m on many boards, and that’s how I’ve kept myself busy.”
She is an elder at First United Presbyterian Church. She is a member, past chapter president and past national officer of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She holds membership in The Links Incorporated and is a national officer in the Top Ladies of Distinction.
She said her proudest achievement is her daughter, Virginia Jordan, who followed in her footsteps and became an educator.
“When I left the University of Illinois at age 20, I had a diploma, a bachelor’s degree and a daughter,” she said. “I’m proud of all of them.”
When asked what she would like people to know about her, Wright explained that her belated husband, Marvin Wright, who died last year at 96, was an integral part of her development, she said.
“I learned so much from him,” she said. “He was a fine administrator.”
Wright still writes commentaries regarding education for various publications. The point she repeatedly drives home is that children need all of us to step up.
“Children need champions,” she said. “They need us to work for them and to advocate for them and to understand them. You have to fight for your children.”
The 2014 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, September 12 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 6 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $85 each/$850 table, and VIP/Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.stlamerican.com and click on Salute to Excellence, or call 314-533-8000.
