Durant School District Superintendent Mark Moring talked about the backto- school event for teachers and staff, and he recognized Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Kasey Bennett during a recent meeting of the Durant Board of Education.
Gian Paul Gonzalez, a history teacher from New Jersey and motivational speaker, spoke at the Durant Back-to-School Bash the day before classes began in the district. Moring said about 450 people from teachers, support staff, cafeteria, custodial, maintenance and transportation employees attended the event in the high school auditorium. He thanked First United Bank for providing food and the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce for supplying drinks.
Moring said it was a “big production,” and Gonzalez spoke about being “all in.”
“Your students, your faculty, the people you work with, the parents, they’re going to know if you’re all in or not and if you want to be that teacher that influences kids, you’ve got to be all in because there’s no other way to do it than being all in,” Moring said. “So, it was a really good message, and we printed up these chips about being all in and gave them all to the staff, and it’s going to kind of be the motto going forward.”
Moring also thanked Durant First United Methodist Church for providing lunch for teachers that day.
Bennett was attending the meeting and Moring praised her for her teaching methods.
“What I really appreciate about Kasey is, a lot of people around the state, when they think of STEM, they think of technology and everything and her STEM is about creativity and students creating something and not just being in front of a computer screen and let it dictate what you’re doing,” Moring said. “So, I mean they do a lot of hands-on projects and she’s just an absolute joy.”
Bennett said it’s going to be a “wild year” and she was donated a car that she has put 3,000 miles on in a short time.
“This year, I get to travel,” Bennett said. “I get to go see all the good things in Oklahoma education. I’m doing a STEM exchange. I’ve been hitting up the local schools. I’m going to go in some classrooms and watch some lessons, get the feedback from teachers and trade those with other STEM teachers.”
She said she also is working with colleges on pep talks for teachers that are about to student teach.
“It’s going to be a really cool year,” Bennett said. “It’s a big adventure. Mrs. (Joyce) Ned has stepped up to take my spot. She’s been doing amazing. She’s a teacher’s assistant who is going to college right now in the middle of her life and she wants to be a science teacher.”
Board members approved the following employments: Taylor Downs, director of curriculum for Durant Schools; Mellissa Sherrer, principal at NWH; Gena Smith, assistant principal at NWH; Lou Ann Mullens, part-time special education teacher for Durant Schools; Ryan Krueger, special education instructor at DHS; Alissa Andrews, job coach at DHS; Jon Shepard, geography teacher at DMS; Madison Jones, physical education teacher at DIS and assistant softball and basketball coach at DHS; Melanie Thomas, fifth-grade science teacher at DIS, transferring from WI; Leigha Myers, firstgrade teacher at WI; Olivia Bench, third-grade teacher transferring from first-grade teacher at WI; Sheila Cox, first-grade teacher at WI; Marla Hill, licenses professional counselor for Durant Schools; Angela Brown, special education teacher assistant at DHS; Emerson Guizar, special education teacher assistant at DHS; Crystal DaVault, special education teacher assistant at DMS; Tyler Wesley, special education teacher assistant at DMS; Savannah Wells, graduate assistant (cheerleading coach) at DMS; Ali Hernandez, teacher assistant/recess aide at DIS; Brenna Tuttle, special education teacher assistant at DIS; Johnathun Atwood, special education teacher assistant at DIS; Joyce Ned, support staff/ adjunct teacher in STEM; Breanna Angel, special education teacher assistant at NWH; Danielle Lewis, kindergarten teacher assistant at NWH; Michelle Torres, special education teacher assistant at NWH; Summer Kane, special education teacher assistant at NWH; Anna Harrington, special education teacher assistant at WI; Brooks Dowling, special education teacher assistant at WI; Hannah Percell movement from special education teacher assistant to kindergarten teacher assistant at GW; Lila Barnes, special education teacher assistant at GW; Carlee Matlock, special education teacher assistant at GW; Abbey Busbey-Bledsoe, special education teacher assistant at REL; Baileigh Fisher, special education pre-kindergarten teacher assistant at REL; Chelsie Kulig, special education pre-kindergarten teacher assistant at REL; Benjamin Keeling, transportation employee; Randy Norman, transportation employee; James Platt, transportation employee, and David Young, transportation employee.
The board accepted the following resignations: Thomas James, special education instructor at DHS; Karissa Nabors, kindergarten teacher at WI; Grace Krueger and Rebecca Reeve, special education teacher assistants at DIS; Shelley Allen, library assistant at DIS; Rylee Richardson, kindergarten teacher assistant at GW; James Dunn, P.E. assistant at WI, and Addison Couch, cheerleading graduate assistant at DMS.
