Braulio Alonso (December 16, 1916 – June 5, 2010) was a high school and junior high school teacher and principal. He served as the first Hispanic president of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stud ...

.National Education Association
"NEA - Answering the Call: Part IV"
Retrieved 6/28/09.

Early life

Alonso as born in Ybor City,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

on December 16, 1916. His parents were both cigar makers in Ybor City and members of the

Centro Asturiano The Centro Asturiano is a historic site in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It is located at 1913 Nebraska Avenue. On July 24, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott. Hi ...

social club. His first language was

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Braulio went to work at the age of 10 in order to help support his family."An Educator's Educator." The Tampa Tribune. November 7, 2000. He graduated from Hillsborough High School as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

in 1935. He graduated from the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

, also as valedictorian, in 1939. Braulio married Adelfa (Bebe) Diaz, an elementary school educator, in August 1941. They had two children."Educator talks with passion." The Tampa Tribune. July 20, 1993.

Military service

Braulio entered the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in October 1941. He entered as a private and was immediately sent to

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

. Dr. Alonso served with the 85th infantry Division in North Africa and the Italian Campaign as Battery Commander in the 328th Artillery Battalion. He was in the first group of allied officers to enter

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. Major Alonso was discharged in November 1945. He received the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

with Cluster.

Career in education

Alonso began his teaching career as a chemistry and physics teacher at Henry B. Plant High School before the war. After the war, Alonso returned to public education as director of Adult Education and On the Job Training for Veterans. He pioneered the present-day Adult High School. He served as Director of this office from 1946 to 1953. During the summers he attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

where he earned a Master's and Ph. D. At the time, he was providing also for the college education of his two sisters, as well as supporting his family. His next assignments were as principal of West Tampa Junior High School (1952–1958), Jefferson High School (1958–1962) and C. Leon King High School (1962–1968). All three schools grew in excellence under his tenure. One of Alonso's lifelong passions had been to improve the schools and champion the teachers. In pursuit of that mission, he served as president of the Hillsborough Education Association (1951–1956) and then as President of the

Florida Education Association The Florida Education Association (FEA) is a statewide federation of teacher and education workers' labor unions in the US state of Florida. Its 145,000 members make it the largest union in the state. It is a merged affiliate of the American Fede ...

in 1957. He was especially proud of his role as one of the educators who contributed toward desegregating the FEA. Braulio was elected president of the

and took office in July, 1967."Tampan Takes NEA Reigns". St. Petersburg Times. July 8, 1967. In 1968 masses of Florida teachers resigned in protest over budget cuts. Braulio ended his teaching career by resigning as principal of King High School in solidarity with the teachers. The county refused to rehire him after the protest. Braulio later became the NEA's director of international relations and traveled the world representing the NEA."School names honor 2 educators". Tampa Tribune. October 7, 2000. He retired his post at the NEA in 1983. In 2001, Braulio Alonso High School was opened in honor of Dr. Alonso.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso, Braulio 1916 births 2010 deaths Schoolteachers from Florida United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II University of Florida alumni Presidents of the National Education Association