Uncrowned Community Builders

Betty Jean Beck was born May 10, 1946 in Eufaula, Oklahoma. She is the second of fourteen children born to Charley and Rosie English.

Betty attended Muskogee, Oklahoma Public School District. While she attended Sadler Middle School and Manual Training High School she was a member of the Student Honor Society. She finished high school in 1964. She attended Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1969 and a Master of Science in Reading in 1973.

While at Northeastern State College, Betty met Edward Beck and they married on September 16,1967. They were blessed with two children, Rebecca and Suzette.

She is a member of the Antioch Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There she is the coordinator of the Sunday School Department. She has been a Sunday school teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, and Sunday School Assistant Coordinator. She and her husband also worked with the Life Preservers as facilitators working with the young adult congregation.

Betty is a sophisticated lady of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is an active member of the Alpha Upsilon Omega chapter in Langston, Oklahoma. She consistently serves as the chair of the Sisterly Relations Committee. In 2006 she was honored that Alpha Kappa Alpha published five of her Sisterly Relations activities in their book.

In the spring of 1969 Betty worked in a program observing teachers in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Tulsa using different teaching styles and techniques. In May of that year she was hired by the Tulsa Public Schools to teach at the Elementary school level. Throughout the many years that Betty taught she became very concerned about the students who were falling through the cracks of the system. She took it upon herself to seek further education to find a way to reach these students. She transferred to an elementary school that was on the at risk list. There she participated in a 2 year program which trained the teachers on how to implement the Marva Collinsââ?¬â?¢ teaching technique. She attended the Dr. Barbara Sizemore NABSE Education Excellency Workshop.

Betty was a Tulsa teacher consultant with the Equals program which was sponsored by the California Equals group. She also trained in the Ron Edmond Seminary program, as well as other various workshops. In 1998 Betty and her husband made the decision to form a private elementary school in the Tulsa area. That same year Betty took early retirement of 30 years from the Tulsa Public School system and the ABC Learning Academy was officially opened August of 1999. The school started with 4 students and has grown to an enrollment of 60 students, where Betty and 5 teachers broaden the minds of eager young children. The curriculum is Christian based while they use the phonetic approach as well as multiple learning styles and techniques.

Betty and her staff stay motivated to maintain high expectations for each student.