Dorothy Armstrong Powell

Dorothy Jean Armstrong was born in Temple on September 9, 1932. Her father died when she was very young, but her mother raised her in the Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church, which she still attended. She grew up in Temple and attended grades one through twelve at Dunbar. She graduated from Dunbar High School in 1949. She won the state spelling bee in 1947, 1948, and 1949. As well as being a class leader academically, she was a cheerleader for the Dunbar Panthers. Dorothy Powell was very strong in her faith and active in her church, attending Sunday school and as a teenager serving as the Wayman Chapel Sunday School secretary until she left for college.
Dorothy Armstrong left Temple in 1949 to attend Fisk University. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1954 and returned to Temple. She started teaching in Temple and Belton as a substitute teacher and secured a full-time teaching position in Temple as an elementary teacher. During this period she met and fell in love with Allison Powell who was a high school science teacher at Dunbar High School. They were married in 1961. They were both active members of Wayman Chapel, and Dorothy Armstrong Powell served both as a steward and trustee of Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Allison Powell passed away in March 1991. Allison Powell was honored for his years of service when Kennedy-Powell Elementary was named after him by the Temple Independent School District.
Dorothy Powell taught school in Temple, Texas for 36 years, from 1959 to 1995, as a full-time educator after 5 years as a substitute both in Belton and Temple. She taught in elementary schools starting at Crestview Elementary and later at Vandiver and Lanier Elementary Schools. While teaching during her younger years, she continued her education and completed her master of arts in education at Prairie View A&M in 1963. Having completed her M.A., she was promoted to principal at Vandiver Elementary and was later assigned to Western Hills Elementary. In 1995, she retired from the Temple Independent School District. This did not separate her from her love of educating children. She ran for T.I.S.D. Board of Directors and won the place 2 seat. While a member of the board, she served as board secretary.
Her service as a teacher, principal, and as a member of the Board of Education of the Temple Independent School District was a sign of her love of children and devotion to teaching and education. As a T.I.S.D. board member, she remembers that teachers in the segregated schools "taught us to stand on our own two feet and not be afraid to stand for what is right." As a district 2 trustee she represented "all the children of the district because all children need access to a quality education." She worked to bring "cooperation and cohesiveness between parents, teachers, and the children." Dorothy Powell was a member of the Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas Elementary Principals Association. She was a "teacher appraiser" for the Texas Education Agency along with completing several "general management/leadership training" courses. She has served on several "campus improvement teams."
She was an active Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Temple, and traveling. She was also a very active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated on November 6, 1954, where she served faithfully in positions like President and Treasurer of the Gamma Psi Zeta Chapter Temple Chapter, originally chartered in the 1960s. She has served on the debutante committee working with high school senior girls to become debutantes. She was also a member of the Waco Chapter of Links, Inc. Her travels have taken her to Washington, D.C. as well as many other states to visit her friends and sorority sisters. As a proud alumni of Prairie View A&M University, she attended the annual homecoming religiously.