Earnestine LaGrande Carter
Earnestine LaGrande Carter attended George Washington Carver High School and was valedictorian of her graduating class in 1947. At Carver, she was senior class secretary, a competitive member of the girls’ varsity basketball team, and she excelled in track and field events. In her senior year, Earnestine was one of three selected from Carver as a delegate for the first science congress at Virginia State University. She was awarded an academic scholarship to Virginia State but declined it in order to attend Fayetteville State Teacher’s College, known then, as it is today, for its exemplary training of elementary level educators. Earnestine was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Mu and Sigma Ro Sigma Honor Societies at Fayetteville. After graduating First Honors with a B.S. in Elementary Education, she taught at Lincoln Elementary, C.G. White High School, and Warwick State Training School for Boys.
In 1960, Earnestine completed her Masters in Education at New York University and began what would be a brilliant career as one of only two African American teachers in the school district of Middletown, New York. While teaching elementary school, Earnestine continued post-graduate studies at the State University of New York in New Paltz. At a time of civil unrest, Earnestine founded and became Chairperson of the Black Studies Curriculum in 1970. She was awarded a grant by the Center for International Programs and Comparative Studies to attend the first Afro-American Institute at Columbia University, where she collaborate with national educators and scholars to honor and integrate the history and contributions of African Americans into the elementary school social studies curriculum.
In her 29 years as a teacher in Middletown, Earnestine trained and supervised student teachers, led in-service workshops in professional development to support student assessment and the implementation of new curricula, and was a member of the Executive Board of the Middletown Teacher’s Association. She was part of a team of teachers who pioneered the use of the first computers in classrooms in the 1970’s and traveled with a delegation of educators to tour the British Open Schools in 1973, implementing the philosophy and many of the practices of open education upon her return.
Earnestine has been inducted into the Delta Kappa Gamma Honor Society of women educators. She has received letters of recognition from her district superintendent, principals, mayors, and colleagues for her commitment to diversity and excellence. She was recognized for her implementation of multi-graded reading programs to meet the varying needs of individual students, with audiovisual materials and more hands-on experiences for enrichment and remediation. Her summers found her mentoring and tutoring students in reading and literacy skills or volunteering at the local historical society to plan programs that brought pivotal American history alive to students.
Earnestine retired from teaching in 1990. She remains active as secretary of the Fayetteville State University Class of 1951, coordinating fundraising events and scholarships for those aspiring teachers who are her legacy. She and her husband, William, still live in Middletown, New York. They have two children, Jacqueline L. Carter and Sharon L. Myrick.
In recognition of her outstanding career achievements, Earnestine LaGrande Carter is inducted into the 2008 Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association.
