After a lifetime of firsts, retired school teacher and union leader Margaret Simmons died March 2 at age 89.

A high school teacher most of her career, Simmons was the first African-American employed as a teacher in the Shenendehowa District in Saratoga County, and the first African-American teacher in New York state north of New York City, according to members of NYSUT Retiree Council 10.

A leader in the New York State Teachers Association and director for the National Education Association, she became a member of NYSUT's first Board of Directors when the statewide union was formed.

"She was a very caring teacher and a very hard-working person who quietly made many things happen," RC 10 President David Golden said of his longtime colleague.

For example, Golden said, Simmons did a lot of work every year to make the high school graduation ceremony a success.

'"Nobody knew it until the year after she retired," Golden said. "There were a lot of problems."

Simmons logged another educational milestone as the first female president of the Shenendehowa Teachers Association.

She was also active in the American Field Service, which brings foreign students to the United States and sends U.S. students abroad.

Simmons received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from the School of Education of New York University in 1939 and 1940 in the field of social sciences.

In 1963, she earned an M.A. from the University at Albany in reading education and educational psychology.