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Educator

Marva N. Collins is well known for her educational work in Chicago, where she established her own school to teach slow learners. Mrs. Collins was the subject of a special television program in which Cicely Tyson played the role of the noted educator. Mrs. Collins, an Alabama native, taught in the Chicago school system for 14 years but became concerned with the type of education black youngsters were receiving. In 1975 she opened the Westside Preparatory School in her home and since then she has been teaching basic education to youngsters on Chicago's West Side. Mrs. Collins graduated from Chicago Teacher's College and is a recipient of the Watson Washburn Award for Excellence in Education.