WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Mildred Bennett Foster began teaching music at Jewett Primary School in 1961, becoming the first Black elementary music teacher in Winter Haven.
“She had a passionate smile, naturing nature. She would always give you positive advice, but she was stern,” said Patricia Smith-Fields.
Patricia Smith-Fields took Mrs. Foster's music class when she was in elementary school. She said she had a way of bringing musical talent out of students who were not musically inclined.
“She made sure all voices, including mine, blended and came out beautiful in the songs that we sang,” said Smith-Fields.
Foster helped thousands of children learn to sing during her more than three decades as a teacher. She also gave private voice and piano lessons at her home, fostering a love of music in many.
“She taught all the students how to read music. She actually taught me how to play the piano. She was very loving, caring, and passionate,” said former student Pamela Musgrove Turner. “When students didn’t have a way home, she would make certain that they had transportation home. When students were hungry, she kept food in her music class,” she said.
Foster taught during a time when schools were still segregated and Black schools lacked adequate resources. She would find creative ways to teach, like tapping on glasses of water to demonstrate musical notes.
“She made the best of what she had. She was innovative, ingenious, smart. She knew her music and wanted us to learn music too,” said former student Brenda Davis Rhodes.
Following desegregation, the school became Jewett Elementary School and, several years later, Jewett School of the Arts.
“Mrs. Foster shared with me that they wanted to take the school away and put a maintenance department at Jewett School of the Arts. She said they got a busload of people and went to Bartow and boycotted,” said Lynn Louis, a former student.
After leaving her teaching position, Foster served as resource coordinator for Jewett's Florida First Start program, which helps at-risk children and their families. Foster’s sister Faye Bellamy said she was also passionate about social justice causes.
“She believed in justice and fairness for all. She participated in NAACP as well as other groups to make sure the citizens were treated properly,” said Bellamy.
Foster retired in 2000, and the following year, Jewett School of the Arts named a building after her: The Mildred Foster Fine Arts Building.
Foster passed away in 2022 at the age of 83, but her students say her legacy lives on.
“Her legacy will live on, and the children that are attending school will need to know who she was and what she stood for and respect the legacy that she left behind,” said Smith-Fields.
