Member Highlight: Ms. LeAnn Holden-Martin

Just last week Charles H. Flowers High School's Ms. LeAnn Holden-Martin won first place in Voya's Unsung Heroes competition, securing a $25,000 grant for her classroom.

She plans to turn the grant into the 'Sonny House Job Skills Program' focused on helping high school students with severe cognitive disabilities develop real-world job skills. The program will help students receive specialized training for a broad range of jobs including housekeeping, laundry care, grocery bagging/shelving, mail sorting, car detailing, gardening and office work.

According to Holden-Martin, the project will allow students to explore different skills, which she hopes will empower them to make more informed decisions for themselves and develop self-determination.

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Education History in Prince George's County

In 1954 when the Supreme Court announced its unanimous Brown v. Board of Education decision, Prince George's County public schools had 24 separate schools for Black children. From 1955 to 1965, the school system operated under a "freedom of choice" plan similar to what other Southern and border states adopted.

The school system automatically registered students in the school they would have attended before, but their parents could request a transfer to the school of their choice. Despite the obstacles to transfer, the number of Black students enrolling in formerly all-white schools steadily grew over the decade.

In the early 1960s, events on the local and national levels forced Prince George's County to reevaluate. A proposed transfer of Black students from Lakeland Junior High School to Mary Bethune Junior High in 1961 saw 500 parents sign a letter to the board demanding an end to freedom of choice.

In 1965, after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, the federal government actively pressured cities and counties to integrate, threatening to cut off funding for non-compliance. Prince George's County school officials eliminated the "freedom of choice" policy and redrew school boundaries—doubling the enrollment of Black students at desegregated schools.

As the Black community began to move over the county line from Washington D.C., the white community moved farther out, perpetuating the pattern of de facto segregation that was challenged successfully in 1972 by eight Black parents. Judge Frank Kaufman found the Prince George's County school system illegally segregated Black students and ordered a busing-based desegregation plan, making Prince George's the largest school system in the country to use such a plan.

Take Action

As Congress renews child nutrition programs, we need legislation that expands access to free meals for more students and invests in training and kitchen equipment for food service professionals who keep our students fed and healthy.