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Lillian Tynes Perry
The Passion For Education Begins In A One Room School House
The photo above was taken around the turn of the 19th Century. It pictures the grandfather of Lillian Tynes Perry, preparing for a day of teaching in a one-room school house in the back woods of Virginia. His students were poor colored children, the sons and daughters of former slaves. Dr. Joseph Walter Tynes, taught himself to read, and later earned a degree in theology, pastored several churches, and was the Dean of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Lynchburg. Lillian's mother and maternal grandmother also began their teaching careers in county school houses in the backwoods of the Old Dominion. During the early part of the 20th Century, colored teachers had no other choices when it came to teaching positions. For a larger view, click on the photo.
Putting kids first is Lillian Perry's passion, and she has combined that passion with her 36 years as a public school educator, mixed with the mutual careers both she and her husband have shared in the entertainment industry, as studio and concert vocalists. In fact, Lillian became a union singer while still in college, before entering Northwestern University's Graduate School of Education to pursue a Masters of Arts degree in Teaching.
Throughout her teaching years, Lillian has volunteered time and energy to create innovative after-school and in-school programs in both California and Illinois, long before the thought of establishing a foundation came to mind. Lillian has organized and directed a children^s choir, a glee club, a community chorus, a 6th grade Honors Chorus and 4th/5th grade public school choruses (Upland Unified School District). She has produced and/or presented numerous children^s musical productions in schools in Chicago, Evanston, and Los Angeles, organized chess clubs, sponsored a basketball team, and volunteered as a mentor for the YWCA. Her entire teaching career has been spent in classrooms, in spite of offers to consider administrative or counseling opportunities.
The Passion for Activism Begins on a March with Dr. King
Her father, the late Dr. Morris Tynes, was an well-known Baptist minister and co-activist in the Civil Rights movement with Martin Luther King. He is photographed alongside or behind Dr. and Mrs. King in most of the historic marches. As a 16 year old, Lillian also marched with Dr. King in Chicago.
Having witnessed decades of change and reform, Lillian has boldly challenged the status quo to respond to new generations of public school students, generations who continue to struggle in achieving basic literacy and math standards in a technologically and rapidly advancing world.
The Passion for Public Education Begins with a Supreme Court Decision
Lillian is the cousin of renown Howard University law professor and attorney George E.C. Hayes, who, (pictured above on the left) along with Thurgood Marshall and William Nesbitt, was one of the historical team of lawyers who argued and won the Brown v. Board of Education case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. This case legally established a law desegregating public schools in America. Click on photo to see a larger image.
As a result of her courage in school reform efforts, she was appointead by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in September 2006. Six months later she was unanimously confirmed by the California Senate and House of Representatives in March 2007. She was recently appointed to represent the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on the Advisory Board of the California Mathematics Project.
Commissioner Perry is a member of the Association of American Educators (AAE) a professional organization for teachers, and the California League of Middle Schools (CLMS). As an educator, she has obtained the status of Highly Qualified under the federal law - No Child Left Behind.
Lillian is the only authentic classroom teacher serving on the CTC.
As an authentic classroom teacher, Lillian instructs 6th grade students in math and science. She has kept up with the trends and research proven strategies which are designed to meet the needs of the most challenging populations within our government schools today - students between the ages of 11 and 15 - also known as Tweeners.
The PhiLill Foundation fully supports and utlilizes all of the research based and proven strategies under the federal law - No Child Left Behind - in order to meet the needs of struggling middle school students. As an apologist for NCLB, Lillian feels that NCLB is a well-intentioned mandate, one which ultimately will have a positive effect on public school students by holding teachers and school districts accountable. Mrs. Perry^s opinion is that NCLB takes up where the landmark Brown v. Board of Education desegregation decision left off.
The PhiLill Foundation is named in honor of Lillian's 24 year marriage to Phil Perry, an internationally acclaimed singer, song writer, and recording artist voted 2007 Soultracks Male Vocalist of the Year.
Both Phil and Lillian have been professional singers for nearly 40 years, and are members of prominent theatrical unions - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and the highly respected Society of Singers (S.O.S.). Both are members of ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), and have previously been affilitated with the Actors Equity Association (AEA) and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).
The PhiLill Foundation desires to give back to both the local and greater communities, through the combination of musical & educational gifts, talents, and influence through a unique mix called EduTainment - Education thru Entertainment.
The worldwide prominence and respect that recording artist Phil Perry has earned in the music business fuels the fundraising efforts of the PhiLill Foundation through the annual Phil Perry Fan Cruises - the signature fundraisers. The Fourth Annual Phil Perry Weekend Fan Cruise will take place in 2009 on the beautiful Carnival Cruise ship - the Imagination - Friday February 13th thru the 15th, leaving from Miami to the Bahamas.
Please consider becoming a member of the PhiLill Foundation with a
Basic Membership donation of $35.00 - TODAY!
2008 Membership Levels
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Basic @ $35.00 (membership card/newsletter subscription)
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Presidents Circle @ $60.00 (membership card/newsletter subscription/certificate of appreciation)
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Founders Circle @ $100.00 (membership card/newsletter subscription/certificate of appreciation/autographed cd)
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Contributor @ $500.00 (invitations to events/a limited edition commemorative gift/all of the above
Visit the
Membership Drive Link
Please Join Us Today
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