Sharon Ponder Ballard '86

Senator John W. Maitland, Jr. Commitment to Education Award Winner

• Performing arts teacher, Carter School of Excellence; Chicago

• Major: Political Science

Sharon Ponder Ballard is a National Board Certified and Golden Apple Winning Teacher. She is a proud Chicago Public School teacher who is a compassionate advocate for equitable literacy and restorative justice, especially for marginalized students. Her commitment to deepening her understanding of how equity and inequity operate in school systems and society at large guides her approach to instruction.

The majority of the inner-city schools where she has taught have lost their librarians due to budget cuts. Therefore, she creates classroom libraries where she stocks books of all genres, from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter, to The Hate You Give. She consistently seeks grant opportunities from Donors Choose, Rochelle Lee, Working in the Schools, and the National Endowment for the Humanities to eliminate book deserts and literary inequities for her students. 

Ponder Ballard's passion for reading and education comes from her mother. She says that her mom, who raised her along with her eight siblings, made sure that all of her children received their Chicago Public Library card by the time they were five years old. Remembering the importance her mother placed on reading, she describes, “My mom went to thrift stores and garage sales to create a home library for us. She said, reading was freedom. As a single parent, my mom worked twice as hard to model for us the importance of education. When my eldest brother went off to Princeton University, the rest of us knew that the sky was the limit.”

Her passion for building libraries and fighting injustices through teaching and education extends beyond her beloved city of Chicago. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the surrounding area, Ponder Ballard took a leave of absence from Chicago Public Schools to teach for the New Orleans Recovery School District. She donated over three thousand books to Booker T. Washington Alternative School, L.B. Landry, Lake Forest Charter, and Dillard University. She also traveled to Japan and visited schools in Tokyo and Shizoka Prefectures as a Fulbright Scholar where she was first introduced to graphic novels and Pokemon. 

Not only does Ponder Ballard teach, but she also writes, researches, and develops peer-reviewed curriculum for her students. As a Yale University National Initiative Teacher Fellow, she writes curriculum units focused on enhancing literacy through a restorative and social-emotional lens. Her most recent curriculum is titled “Environmental Racism through Leaves, Legos and Lyrical Abstract.” This unit provides students the opportunity to engage with environmental themes, nature, plant anatomy, and Legos for open-ended design challenges. 

She continues to work with young adults in her spare time as a member of the illustrious Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Xi Nu Omega chapter. She pledged her commitment to AKA sorority at Illinois State University via Eta Alpha Chapter, Spring 1984. Ponder-Ballard is a dedicated, passionate educator and mentor who is determined to make a difference in her community, positively impacting the lives of all the young people she encounters in and outside of the classroom. Her favorite scripture is “When I thought, 'My foot slips, ‘Your steadfast love, O LORD, helped me up. When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19.