NJEA honored five members for their commitment and actions for social justice and equity: paraprofessional Lisa Richardson Hall, math teacher Thomas Tamburello, elementary school teacher Tamar LaSure-Owens, Spanish teacher Rocio Lopez, and retired elementary school teacher Eleanor Clark.
The awards were presented at the NJEA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration, which came at the conclusion the association’s Equity Alliance Conference. The conference was held remotely on Jan. 15.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award
NJEA Human and Civil Rights Committee
Lisa Richardson Hall, a paraprofessional in the Lawrence Township School District, is the founder of the Rays of Hope. The organization engages youth, ages 8 to 18, in cultural awareness, community service and social activism. Rays of Hope organized a Black Lives Matter rally in Jackson after the murder of George Floyd. Marchers spoke about their personal experiences with racial injustice. Richardson Hall took it a step further, helping the youth organize a meet and greet with the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, the State Police, and the Ocean County prosecutor’s office.
Richardson Hall initiates numerous community and statewide service projects, including food, clothing and book drives, senior citizen engagement activities, park construction, and the collection of prom dresses and school supplies for youth living in underserved areas. Richardson Hall led youth in canvassing efforts to register voters on college campuses.
In 2019, Richardson Hall helped Rays of Hope youth organize a petition on Change.org, calling for Gov. Phil Murphy to sign legislation to end lunch shaming by providing free lunch to all students, regardless of socioeconomic status. Again, taking things a step further, she led Rays of Hope youth in a letter writing campaign to the governor on behalf of the same issue. The petition and the campaign garnered national attention and was featured on various news affiliates such as CBS2 in New York, WPIX, and NJ101.5.
Urban Educator Activist Award
NJEA Urban Education Committee
Tamar LaSure-Owens is an elementary school teacher at Leeds Avenue School in Pleasantville.
LaSure-Owens has organized and revised many of the Amistad, Holocaust, and Latino history (AMHOTINO) curriculum documents that are being rolled out in her district as well as the state. Currently, she is revising content maps to include English language arts (ELA) integration and writing lesson plans for grade levels K-5. In addition, she established in her district seven AMHOTINO Google Classrooms for each grade level, including visual and performing arts.
LaSure-Owens advocated AMHOTINO professional development, modeling the value of cultivating partnerships to strengthen curricula and build resources. She brought leaders from the New Jersey Amistad Commission, NJEA, Atlantic County government, and the local chapter of NAACP together with Pleasantville school staff for two days of professional learning. LaSure-Owens facilitated the training and empowered educators to make connections with community stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard when advocating for honest curricula.
During the 2018-19 school year, LaSure-Owens successfully advocated for 76 staff members, including educational support professionals, teachers and other certificated staff and administrators at Leeds Avenue School to receive state Senate commendations from Sen. Chris Brown for successfully implementing the Amistad Curriculum.
LaSure-Owens also organized Rabbi Shalom Ever’s visit to Leeds Avenue School in March 2020 for Purim. Ever leads Atlantic City’s only synagogue, Rodef Sholom. In addition, LaSure-Owens provided teachers with classroom resources for Jewish holidays prior to Rabbi Ever’s visits.
Elizabeth A. Allen Women in Education Award
NJEA Women in Education Committee
Rocio Lopez, the president of the South Orange-Maplewood Education Association and a Columbia High School Spanish teacher, is president and co-founder of We Empower Women. We Empower Women advocates for women of color and develops strategies to help them achieve their goals. Through We Empower Women, Lopez has identified community allies to more comprehensively meet the needs of the women they serve.
Lopez also serves as the adviser for Columbia High School’s first intersectional feminist—and gender fluidity—empowerment group, “People on Women of Equity Rights” (POWER). POWER has presented workshops centered on consent, collected feminine products to be distributed throughout the district, created task forces to address allegations of sexual assault, and worked to eliminate language from the district’s code of conduct that was inequitably targeted at women and girls.
Judith M. Owens Spirit Award
Minority Leadership and Recruitment Committee
Eleanor Clark was a teacher at Osage Elementary School in Voorhees Township for 42 years. Her belief in equity, equality and social justice led her to ensure that students of color and economically disadvantaged students have the tools to achieve to the highest expectations. Clark implemented the Before and After School Reading Club for first and fifth graders. She served as a mentor focusing on at-risk youth, English language learners, and students with special needs. She was also the co-chairperson for the Black History Committee at Osage Elementary School.
Clark’s passion to share knowledge and experience with her students has led her on many domestic and international travels, particularly the New Jersey Holocaust Commission’s NJEA-sponsored tour to sites of the Holocaust in Europe. These tours came with the responsibility to be a more informed educator on issues concerning the Holocaust and genocide and their long-term effects.
Clark’s love for her students went beyond the classroom. In March of 1995, Clark learned that a former student had become homeless. The former student requested that the then-named Division of Youth and Family Services call Clark. Without hesitation, she answered the call and went on to help raise him until he left for college.
Equality Champion Award
NJEA Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee
Thomas Tamburello has been the adviser for the Lenape High School Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) for the past 13 years. Under his guidance, the GSA has held or participated in countless events to promote appreciation for LGBTQIA+ diversity and to promote inclusion at school and the community. These activities include Ally Week, the Philadelphia AIDS Walk and fundraising for charities that support LGBTQIA+ families and youth. In April, the GSA participates in The Day of Silence to help bring awareness to the impact of bullying that queer students often face.
When the New Jersey Inclusive Curriculum Law was passed in 2021, Tamburello met with Lenape’s history supervisor to discuss how curricula would be updated to include the contributions of the queer community. He also assists Lenape staff when parents or students are looking for LGBTQIA+ resources.
Tamburello sits on the board of the Collingswood chapter of PFLAG, an organization that helps parents and friends of LGBTQIA+ persons.
Tamburello served on the NJEA Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Committee for over a decade and as its chairperson for most of that time. With help from the SOGI Committee, he worked with NJEA staff to establish the first LGBTQIA+ professional development conference and was instrumental in helping the committee develop the Equality Champion Award. Under his leadership, the committee held its first annual brunch at the NJEA Convention and participated in various pride events throughout the state, most notably at Asbury Park.
Tamburello worked with NJEA to lobby in Trenton numerous times when Marriage Equality was up for debate in New Jersey. He also served on committees and panels with members from the Department of Education when the NJ Anti-Bullying law was amended to make sure it addressed the needs of LGBTQIA+ students.