SHS Welcomes Eleven New Educators to its Halls

There are eleven new teachers on Stillwater High School’s faculty this year.

Hayden Harmon is the new Coordinator of Strength & Conditioning. He is a graduate of OSU and returns to Stillwater after teaching at Pryor High School. Education runs in his family: “Both grandmas and my mother were teachers. I truly love getting to work with this age group of kids.” He enjoys Oklahoma athletics and sporting events. Golf, shooting, and weightlifting are his top three hobbies, and he is looking forward to marrying his fiance this coming spring.

A graduate of Stillwater High School and OSU, Alyssa Bergbower is new in her teaching role at SHS. She teaches French. Giving back is a significant motivation for Alyssa: “The French program at SHS was such a large part of my high school experience, and I wanted students to have the same opportunities I did.” Her father was also a teacher at Stillwater High School, and she saw firsthand the impact his work had on students. She enjoys baking, embroidering, and spending time with her husband and dog.

**Kami Pope** teaches Family and Consumer Science

Brand new to Stillwater is Kami Pope. She comes from El Paso, TX, and has 16 years of experience teaching Family and Consumer Science, which she will continue teaching here. Many of the skills she teaches her students she learned in her home while growing up. “I feel the life lessons they teach are so important,” she says. Since not every student has that chance, she feels lucky to help them in that way. She enjoys cooking, baking, watching movies and reading during her off time.

**Brian Laxton** teaches Geometry and Algebra II

The new mathematics teacher is Brian Laxton, specializing in Geometry and Algebra II. Mr. Laxton studied at OSU in the 1990s and returned to Stillwater with his family in 2010. He has experience as a substitute teacher in the district and as an academic advisor at Tulsa Community College. His daughter is also starting her high school career this fall. "I've always loved math and love helping young people understand it better," says Brian. When things settle down and he has some time on the weekends, he enjoys buying and selling sports memorabilia.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Seth Brown is teaching Biology at Stillwater High School this year. Teaching is genetic in his family. His grandfather, father, mother, aunt, a few cousins, and a sister all found careers in education. He credits his late grandpa “Pappy”’s influence in his decision to become a teacher.

Mr. Brown studied at Murray State College, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and OSU. Although being only a one-year resident of Stillwater and new to teaching, he says, “ I feel like I’m part of a family and something bigger at the same time. Everyone here helps each other and pushes you to be the best educator you can be.” He spends his free time with his wife, Kadence, and their four-month-old son, Theo.

Jerry Hays teaches science. He has been teaching for 28 years. Regarding his first impressions of the school and the community, Mr. Hays said, "Stillwater impresses me as a large school with a small school comradery. I am impressed with the support provided by everyone at Stillwater Schools. It is a great place to work." In his off-time, he loves hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family.

Meredith Barney is one of the new English teachers. This is her second year teaching in the Stillwater district and her 27th year overall. She previously taught English, social studies and journalism in the small towns of Canton and Seiling, Oklahoma. She and her husband moved to Stillwater to be closer to family and love the community. Teaching came naturally to Ms. Barney at a young age. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. My sister and I always played school when we were young.” Her hobbies include reading, gardening, and helping my husband with our cattle operation, but her favorite thing is spending time with her granddaughter.

**Shaila West** teaches English AP Literature & Composition

Stillwater native and SHS graduate of 97’ Shaila West is the new English AP Literature & Composition teacher. She taught in Pawnee for eleven years and another eleven years in middle school in the Stillwater district. Both of her parents are retired teachers from Stillwater Public Schools. “I love literature & writing, which made teaching English the perfect fit!” she says. Outside of teaching, she continues her love of English by reading, writing, collecting books, and spending time with family, friends and her three dogs. She wants the community to know that she is “so happy to be teaching at Stillwater High School!”

**Melissa Stirling-Durrant** works with English Language Learners

Melissa Stirling-Durrant is the new English Language Learners teacher at SHS. She has twenty years of teaching experience from elementary and middle schools in Brazil and worked for nine years in a dual immersion program in Utah. She teaches all new incoming English language learners at the middle school, junior high, and high school levels, focusing on high school during the morning and middle school in the afternoon.

She visited Stillwater 16 years ago for a friend's graduation and fell in love with the city. "For two reasons: Garth Brooks and the kindness of the people here. It is a very friendly place to live."

Her godmother's example as an educator was a major inspiration for Melissa to become a teacher. "No matter what students would choose to be in life, she had the goal to give her best to allow them to develop the skills necessary to make their lives meaningful. I love education and I love my students and seeing their progress, even more than chocolate!"

Outside of school, Melissa loves to watch Christmas movies all year, cook Brazilian food, spend time with her family, and scuba diving.

Another new mathematics teacher is Brandon Wall. He is a graduate of OSU and has taught in Oilton Public Schools for two years. He, too, comes from a long line of educators: he and his brother make up the 4th generation of the "family business."

"I have always enjoyed helping people," says Brandon. Whether through serving in his church community or the schools, his goal is to give his students opportunities. "I know that many students in the state of Oklahoma often get left behind with nowhere to go after high school, but if I can change even one student's outcome from a poor result to a positive result then my whole career has been worth it!"

Brandon enjoys hunting, playing disc golf, playing games, and cheering on the Pokes any chance he can get.

Kristin Janloo, a Stillwater native and Pioneer alum, is the new Yearbook, Newspaper and Journalism teacher. After earning her Bachelor's degree in journalism from Oklahoma State University in 2006, Kristin worked as a reporter for the Stillwater NewsPress and in IT Communications at OSU.

When the call to teach came in 2012, she began her teaching career at FUMC Early Childhood Center before transitioning to public schools in 2015. Now Kristin is living her "dream job --working with young people, seeing them grow into young adults, connecting and engaging with them in the classroom, and I get to do it every day. How lucky am I!?"

Outside of the classroom, Kristin enjoys spending time with her two children, Chloe and Cooper, who are both active in sports, and she loves traveling and attending sporting events with her family.