Portia White-Buze

Prior to becoming an educator, White-Buze engaged with the NAACP ACT-SO Achievement Program for several years, ACT-SO is the acronym for Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics of the mind, where Arizona high school students are encouraged and supported as they further develop academically and creatively to enhance their talents and passions towards their academic and creative dreams and pursuits. During the annual NAACP Convention students from throughout the US come together to share and showcase their talents while competing for awards, scholarships, and prizes. These interactions, along with other factors, were instrumental in choosing to pursue a career in Education.

Earning her BA in Elementary Education from Ottawa University, she has taught grades kindergarten, first, second, fifth, and sixth (both traditional and compartmentalized - Science and Math fifth grade; ELA and Social Studies sixth grade; ESL grades second, fifth, and sixth), in Arizona, and second grade English in the UAE. In addition, she has mentored students from various institutions of higher learning including student teachers and interns from Arizona State University. She remains friends with several of them.

White-Buze has consistently been entrusted with each grade level’s most challenging and diverse students. In order to reach all students, she has planned and implemented standards-based lessons and activities to enhance student engagement and learning, developed and maintained a safe, positive, and inclusive learning environment to address and meet diverse students' needs and requirements, repurposed popular songs and created body movements to enhance students’ grasp and retention of Math concepts. She has engaged and guided students in lively discussions and debates to teach them Social Studies and help them find and gain their voices along with the confidence to speak up sharing their own opinions in class and life, explored and implemented unique teaching methods such as presenting costumed plays written and performed by the students, with the ASU intern’s assistance, to teach students about American history and Social Studies.

White-Buze has created cooperative-learning projects for science-innovation and to foster and strengthen student teamwork and collaboration skills. She has partnered with the NFL to have Pen Pals from various elementary schools around the valley as a means to improve student writing skills, as well as taught After School reading classes. Planned and staffed field trips to a variety of local venues including Arizona State University, the MIM, Halle Heart Children’s Museum for hands-on experiences, first-hand knowledge, and exposures that spark interest in otherwise unknown possibilities. 

Additional responsibilities and positions: Administering and proctoring various Junior high Assessment tools, School Improvement Leadership team, OKIdata Literacy and Technology Project coordinator, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Language Access Services (LAS) Coordinator – coordinated testing, maintained records, reported data to the Administration for all on-site students and reported to Roosevelt School District #66 Multicultural Department. District math assessment selection team. Math Trainer of Trainers District presenter. District and site Curriculum Mapping Trainer and coordinator. Reading team leadership grade level representative, school site Intersession coordinator, ASU Project eXcellence – eXzone site liaison for student enrichment programs and weekend breakfast and lunch, and interview panelist for prospective teachers at Roosevelt School District #66 job fair. 

She began teaching online courses in the Fall Session of 2019 at ASU. She enjoys project-based curriculums that sustainably enhance specifically targeted at-risk communities. White-Buze prefers to be called Buze (pronounced Buzz), as it connotes busy and engaged with personal, professional, and student learning and growth. She has taught face-to-face courses since Spring 2024 and enjoys it very much.