Barbara Ann Goleman is an American secondary-school teacher of English literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 and winner of the 1969 National Teacher of the Year

National Teacher of the Year

The National Teacher of the Year is a professional award in the United States. The program began in 1952, as a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers , and aims to reward excellence in teaching...

 award.

Biography

Goleman was born and raised in Florida. She earned her B.A. in 1952 and M.A. in 1954 at Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

.

She began teaching at Miami Jackson High School

Miami Jackson High School

Miami Jackson High School, also known as Andrew Jackson High School or Jackson High School, is a high school located at 1751 NW 36th St in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Its athletic team name is the Generals....

 in 1954 to help repay her college loan. When she began, the school's enrollment was 90% white middle-class students, but after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling

Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...

 on school desegregation

Desegregation

Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

, Florida began to admit black students to white schools beginning in 1963. By 1966 the student body at Miami Jackson High School was 85% black poor. Goleman helped develop new programs and demonstrated a caring attitude toward students to build academic success.

She was awarded the 1969 National Teacher of the Year Award for her achievements. She was the first southerner to win the award in 18 years. She received the award on 28 April 1969 from President Richard M. Nixon in a White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 ceremony.

Barbara Goleman High School

Barbara Goleman High School

Barbara Goleman Senior High School is a secondary school located at 14100 NW 89th Ave in Miami Lakes, Florida,; its principal is Mr. Carlos Artime. Goleman pertains to Miami-Dade County Public Schools Region I, and is school number 7751...

, opened in 1995, was named in her honor.