- Date Of Birth: August 22, 1941
- Date Of Death: March 17, 2023
- State: Maryland
Sondra Ann (Gittens) Legall, 81, a wife, mother, mathematician, educator, and a school-based administrator within the District of Columbia Public School System passed away peacefully on March 17, 2023 in Gainesville, Virginia.
Sondra was born in Brooklyn, NY on August 22, 1941, the second daughter of Julian Herbert and Bessie Gittens. Sondra accepted Christ at an early age and received her formal education in the New York City Public School System. After graduating from Prospect Heights High School in Brooklyn, NY, she became the first member of her family to attend a university. Sondra was accepted to Howard University in Washington, DC where she excelled as a member of Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honor Society) and Betta Kappa Chi (Science Honor Society). Prior to graduating from Howard, her high school sweetheart, Theodore D. Legall Sr., moved to Washington, D.C. and they married on October 26, 1962. In the Spring of 1963, Sondra graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. As a dedicated lifelong learner, Sondra returned to Howard University and earned a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Teaching in July 1976.
Sondra’s career spanned over 40 years. Her impressive career commenced in July 1963 when she was hired as a Mathematician by the United States Department of the Army. Sondra was assigned to the Research and Analysis Division of the Army Map Service. Although Sondra excelled in this endeavor, she realized that her first love was teaching. As a result, Sondra started her career in education in 1965 as a junior high school math teacher within the District of Columbia Public Schools System (DCPS). She was devoted to increasing the academic achievement of students and improving the instructional delivery of classroom teachers. In addition to teaching students, she mentored and taught staff members various instructional strategies by serving as a demonstration teacher for DCPS. Sondra was also a cooperating teacher for Howard University’s Student Teacher Programs and taught in-service courses.
From 1974-2005, she served in a variety of positions within DCPS: Mathematics Coordinator and Project Director; Secondary Instructional Supervisor; Assistant (for Instruction) to the Assistant Superintendent of DCPS; Director of Curriculum and Instruction for DCPS; and Junior High School Assistant Principal and Interim Principal at Alice Deal Jr. High School in Washington, DC. She officially retired from DCPS in 2005. However, she continued to provide her expertise to the community that she loved. From 2006-2010, she served as an Adjunct Instructor with American University within the School of Education, Teaching, and Health. During this tenure as a Clinical Faculty Supervisor, Sondra observed and critiqued the implementation of lesson plans designed by DCPS first year math teachers.
Sondra had a love for music and was a faithful church congregant. As a child, Sondra played the violin and the piano. She loved the preparation and practice for Handel’s Messiah annually where she served as a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church Choir for more than 30 years. As a member of Trinity, she continued her service to the church by coordinating and leading the Trinity Afterschool and Summer Programs for neighborhood students for several years.
Sondra loved to shop for clothes and shoes, and she never met an Evan Picone suit that she didn’t like. She loved math and mathematic puzzles and spent several hours working on SODUKU. She was a focused and determined wife and mother who modeled high expectations, organization, and sophistication to her family everyday of her life.
Sondra was preceded in death by her father (Julian Gittens), her mother (Bessie Gittens), her sister, (Joyce Gittens), her brother (Julian Jr.), and her husband (Theodore Legall Sr.) Sondra and Theodore Sr. were married for 42 years prior to his death in 2005. From this union, they had three children: Tracy Ann, Shelley Ann, and Theodore, Jr.
Sondra leaves to cherish her memory her loving family. Sondra is survived by her three children Tracy Ann, Shelley Ann (Cedric), Ted Jr (Susan); nine grandchildren (Cephus, Taylor, Jazmine, Joshua, Noah, Zachary, Alysia, Jacob, and Sean); one great-grandchild (Raiden); her siblings Barbara Monet, Patricia Murray, David Gittens, and Tyrone Gittens and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and other loving relatives and friends.
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