First among equals
Paraprofessional made history integrating schools

Ruth Carter Whittle calls her mother the brave one, but it was Whittle—an AFT member who retired last July after 32 years as a special education paraprofessional for the Toledo schools—who in 1965 led six of her sisters and brothers to integrate the schools in Sunflower County, Miss. As an 11th-grader, Whittle "felt responsible for them. I was there to protect them ... even though I couldn't."

It was a tough fight for the Carters, sharecroppers on a cotton plantation who wanted nothing more than an education and a decent life for their 13 children. When the Carters exercised their right to attend the public schools, their house was riddled with bullets and the overseer told them to withdraw. When they refused, he evicted them, taking away their livelihood and their home.

But the family held firm. From 1965 to 1968 while they challenged state law in court, the Carters were the only black children in the county schools. Eventually, they won, and the eight younger Carters graduated from Drew High School. Eleven of the 13 earned college degrees.

"She's the leader, you know, the oldest of the children who integrated those schools," says Constance Curry, a civil rights activist and Fulbright scholar who wrote the book Silver Rights (a common mispronunciation of "civil rights") recounting the family's story, including how Ruth Carter was taunted and shunned. Ruth just wanted out. She hated working in the cotton fields. "It was my dream to leave Mississippi," she says. "I'd wake up in the morning and say, ‘Oh my gosh, am I still here?' "

In that respect, she feels that some of her dreams have come true. She settled in Ohio, going to work part time in 1974 for the Toledo schools and joining the union when she began working full time.

A second book about her family, The School Is Not White!, was written for children by Doreen Rappaport. Whittle credits her mother with teaching the children to hold their heads up and not to hate. "Mama was right about hate," she says in Silver Rights, "because you don't feel good about yourself when you hate someone else."

You can go home again
State's top teacher back at his old high school

Sometimes it really does pay off to stay in touch with former teachers—and even principals—after graduating from high school. Just ask Tommy Smigiel. Not only did he remain on friendly terms with the staff at Norview High School in Norfolk, Va., Smigiel ended up being hired as a teacher by the principal who was there when he graduated in 1996.

Eight years into his career, many of the teachers who used to know him as Tommy, rather than Mr. Smigiel, are gone, and he has established himself as a dynamic teacher and leader in the school. That impressive early-career success led to the Norfolk Federation of Teachers member being honored recently as Virginia's 2008 teacher of the year. (Smigiel learned in January that he was one of four finalists selected for national teacher of the year.)

"I was thrilled to be recognized and proud of my students' achievements," says Smigiel, who invited some of his students on stage when he received the award. "I wanted to be a teacher to ‘pay it forward' for my own teachers believing in me. Coming back to teach at the high school from which I graduated, and being able to inspire my students to do great things, is the best gift I can give."

Smigiel began his career at Norview teaching earth science, and he was the school's team leader in that subject for five years. He also began working on a master's degree, focusing on the high school transition for freshmen, and he helped the school win a grant for small learning communities that led to the establishment of a leadership program for at-risk freshmen. Smigiel now coordinates the program and teaches the students a leadership course that includes character education, public speaking and community service.

His success in the classroom did not go unnoticed by Norfolk Federation of Teachers president Marian Flickinger. Even though Smigiel was an active member of the NEA affiliate when he was nominated for local teacher of year honors, "I voted for him," she says. "He was the best candidate." Impressed by Flickinger's support, as well as the effective leadership he had seen from the local, he joined the AFT. "I was impressed at a local city council budget hearing in which the AFT was able to organize hundreds of members to wear bright orange T-shirts to ask for higher salaries," he recalls.

Smigiel already has been active with the local in his relatively short time as a member, including helping with recruitment. With a master's degree in school administration, Smigiel's long-term plan is to become a school principal. His ambitions also extend beyond the school walls. "I enjoy politics and believe we need more education-friendly elected officials," he says. "I have not ruled out running for political office one day."