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Teacher Honor Roll: The Nominations
Honoree: Alma Wright, William Monroe Trotter School
A Mentor Both In and Out of School
Alma Wright's first-grade students at the William Monroe Trotter School in Dorchester learn quickly that she cares about the lives they lead when they're not in her classroom. She often shows up at their YMCA basketball games or visits with their families to find out why homework isn't being done on time.
Charlie Roche, Wright's student during the days of court-ordered desegregation, still recalls her help and guidance. During the 1970s, Roche was bused to Trotter from Charlestown and was very shaken by the experience. "Alma saw that I got professional counseling and stayed in close touch with my family," he says. That level of caring about students is the hallmark of Wright's 41-year career as a teacher. A native of Sanford, FL, Wright attended college in Knoxville, Tennessee, and spent summers working as a nanny in the Boston area. She liked New England and decided to stay, although a first job working at an insurance company didn't appeal. She soon switched to teaching elementary school and has never looked back.
Wright has taught at Trotter since it opened in 1969 and the energized atmosphere in her classroom-a colleague once called it "controlled chaos"-reflects her philosophy that the best way for a student to learn is to be fully engaged. She uses Lego blocks and computer programs to allow kids to learn through playing. Her students once helped create a women's history trail in Roxbury by using oral histories from extraordinary women in the community.
Wright still gets excited about the prospect of starting a new school year. "To this day, I can't sleep before the first day of school," she says. She especially loves Valentine's Day. By then, most of her first graders have mastered the basics of reading. "You can see them reading the cards they get from their classmates and they are so proud of themselves," she says. "It's an amazing thing to see."
Wright's teaching philosophy, shaped in part through her work with Harvard researchers on learning in the open classroom, is to try different approaches to engage her students. "Students may learn differently, but what you try to do is find some way that reaches every child. I've become very good at multi-tasking."
As she helps train future teachers, Wright believes the emphasis on test scores will create more pressure to teach to standards, making it harder for teachers to be creative and to customize the learning experience.
Wright also believes tomorrow's teachers will face more societal issues. "We have a lot of young parents and they are very caring but also very busy," she says. "Their children come to school looking for attention in different ways. I try to let the children know I care about them both in and out of school."
To this day, her former student Charlie Roche stays in close contact with Wright, exchanging emails as often as once a day. "I still rely on her for guidance," he says, "and she never fails me."
The Nomination Letter
During my schooling years, I had many great teachers who helped me shape into what I am today. However, it wasn't until I got to college that I started to appreciate teachers not only for what they do for me but also for what they do for others. I met Mrs. Wright during my internship in college. She opened her arms and her classroom to me and made me feel welcomed from the time I stepped in.
During my time in her classroom, I learned how hard it is to be a good teacher. How to cater to the different needs children have. The importance of motivation when a child doesn't seem interested in schooling. The need to have communication between parents and teachers, and so on. After nine years of teaching, I feel Mrs. Wright inspired me to be a good teacher to my students year after year. Mrs. Wright has motivated me to take on the challenges the teaching profession has to offer. I think a lot of her previous students feel the way I do. Mrs. Wright is a wonderful woman, teacher, leader, friend, and role model in our field. I hope she continues her work with our public schools. It is just an honor to have her be part of our teaching system.
-Claudia Jaramillo, former student teacher
