VARconnection

Fanny Jackson Coppin

Fanny Coppin became the second African American woman to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1865. After a few years of being a teacher, Fanny Coppin became the first African American woman to receive the title of school principal in 1869, working at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. During those years, Coppin made many improvements to the school, believing that a broader range of education would be necessary to enable all African Americans to become self-supporting.

Read more about Fanny Jackson Coppin her: https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2006/12/fannie-jackson-coppin.html

Michelle Rhee

Michelle Rhee is an education reform activist, former Chancellor of the District of Columbia public schools, and founder of Students First, an advocacy group for educational reform. In 1995, Rhee established The New Teacher Project to support quality education for predominantly low-income and minority children.

Read more about Michelle Rhee here: https://www.influencewatch.org/person/michelle-rhee/

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was a groundbreaking educator who developed many conductive and innovative theories about learning. She sought to create an environment where students were encouraged to explore and develop their own minds. Montessori is responsible for developing much of the modern-day concept of a learning environment that supports independent learning and allows students access to materials at their own pace.

Read more about Maria Montessori here: https://blog.hudsonmontessori.org/who-was-maria-montessori/

Lucy Wheelock

Lucy Wheelock understood that children have unique learning needs, and learning begins at an early age. She was a pioneer of early childhood education, making it her life’s work to spread awareness of the importance of teaching young children. In 1888, she established the Wheelock Kindergarten Training School. Lucy Wheelock’s enthusiastic advocacy for kindergarten and early childhood education is still with us today, in modern approaches to social-emotional learning.

Read more about Lucy Wheelock here: https://www.movethisworld.com/social-emotional-learning/celebrating-womens-history-month-lucy-wheelock/

Who is your favorite female educator? Let us know in the comments below!