Her Story
Erlene Bass Nelson taught in the School District of Philadelphia for almost 52 years, most of them as a kindergarten teacher, which Superintendent Arlene Ackerman called “the longest tenure ever in the history of our School District.” She began with a year of third grade in 1951, returned to teach kindergarten from 1958, and retired from Charles Drew Elementary in June 2008.
Retirement did not last. She was hired back to teach in the district’s newly founded Parent University, where she designs and teaches “Beyond the Three R’s: Role Models for Readiness,” a research-based course in which teen and adult parents learn to model twenty traits of character, from respect and responsibility to resiliency and reflection, for their children. After decades of watching children arrive at school without the basics of citizenship, she decided that character building begins at birth.
Her classes use pretests and posttests, role play, short quizzes and portfolios, along with private conferences with parents. The district’s Parent University director says her model “is often referenced and replicated” by the other instructors.
Beyond the Classroom
The centerpiece of her course is a seven-foot vinyl banner listing the twenty character traits. It hangs at universities including Temple, East Stroudsburg, Harris-Stowe State and Harvard, and in the offices of Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education and the mayor of Philadelphia. A foundation has committed more than $12,000 to place one in each of 400 public and charter schools in the city. Her class drew coverage from Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate WPVI, CNN, Time and the Philadelphia Inquirer in late 2009.
She also sponsors young men in the National Young Leaders Program, speaks to education students at universities, serves on boards working to restructure struggling schools, addresses teen mothers in high schools and volunteers at the Please Touch Museum. On World Teachers’ Day 2009 she received tributes from the Governor, the state Secretary of Education, the mayor and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
Philosophy Into Practice
Nelson says she was “groomed and shaped” to be a teacher by mentors, role models and constant training, and she still sees herself as a student. She believes learning wisdom has to go together with living virtue, and that the most productive bond between teacher and student is trust, which she builds by being nonjudgmental, a good listener and available to families.
She names two major problems in education: school violence and parental apathy toward children’s character and learning. Her answer is to teach parents directly.
“You are my rock.”— Former students, as Nelson recalls their words
“The learning of wisdom must accompany the living of virtue.”— Dr. Erlene Bass Nelson
In Her Own Words
“Teaching is the greatest profession in the world.”— Dr. Erlene Bass Nelson
“To be an exemplary teacher, I must be a student myself, forever learning.”— Dr. Erlene Bass Nelson
“The sweetest words to a teacher are “she / he is my teacher.””— Dr. Erlene Bass Nelson
What Others Said
“A remarkable woman and a highly competent educator who dared to make a difference.”— Arlene C. Ackerman, Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia
“She is a master teacher and uses methods that relate all of the academic instruction to everyday life.”— Karen L. James, Director, Parent University
“Out of 12,727 teachers in our district, … one stands out above the rest.”— Wanda Graham, Executive Director, Office of Leadership and Staff Development
“I identify with her as my second parent and teacher.”— Hydiya Brown, former kindergarten student and Parent University student
“Dr. Nelson is a teacher of the highest integrity.”— Karren N. Dunkley, Deputy Chief, Parent, Family and Community Engagement