Mattie White White , mother of two and grandmother of one, is a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Southern University in Baton Rouge, with minors in science and social studies. Committed to high academic standards, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., where she served as Dean of Pledgees. She also served as an usher in the Convocation Ministry. She continued her studies by earning a master’s in education, with certification in Administration, Supervision of Student Teaching, Gifted, and +30 hrs.at the University of New Orleans.
After graduation, Mattie moved to Washington, D.C., where she began her career as a mathematics instructor with the District of Columbia Public Schools. Although she found the work deeply rewarding, she returned to New Orleans when her husband, Attorney Charles H. White, was appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Louisiana. Mattie then joined the Orleans Parish School Board as a mathematics instructor at Benjamin Franklin Senior High School. Along with dedicating herself to her students, she served as department chair and contributed to the Multicultural Curriculum Writing Committee, the State Standardized Test Committee for the LEAP, CAT, and CTBS assessments, and the UTNO Building Committee. She also devoted many after-school hours to sponsoring the Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society and the Academic Games team.
After enjoying 37.75 years in the classroom, Mattie was in her final year of service and planning retirement. But she didn’t get a chance to do that because Hurricane Katrina did it! After losing her home and everything in it, she moved to Shreveport, LA, and while there, she filed for retirement.
Two years later, Mattie returned to New Orleans and joined the Mathematics Department at Delgado Community College as an adjunct professor. She taught there until the COVID-19 pandemic moved classes online, then successfully adapted to teaching via Zoom for a year. Mattie found her time at Delgado both enjoyable and rewarding; however, when in-person instruction resumed, she chose to retire from the classroom.
Mattie has been an active member of LRTA since retirement, having served as District Secretary, Vice President, and recently District President. The district holds monthly meeting, sharing information from the community, the executive office, hearing speakers from a variety of organizations/affiliations, and continuing to focus on increasing membership. Other areas of involvement include church activities, where she serves as President of the Women’s Ministry, Deaconess treasurer, Greeter, and Pastor’s Advisory Committee. She is a sports enthusiast especially football, enjoys going to movies and Friday lunchtime with friends, and daily gym class.