This year, Loy Norrix has hired new teachers and other staff of various positions, ranging from paraprofessionals to new counselors. Norrix has always been a diverse school, and with the massive new wave of students, it's only getting more diverse. However, there is one largely overlooked group of newcomers in Norrix: the teachers. Below are just some of the great new staff here at Loy Norrix High School.
Spanish teacher Kayla Evans looks through students work during her lunch period. Evans just started at Norrix with teaching experience from Columbia under her belt.
"I had a Fulbright Grant and was teaching in Columbia for a year, which kinda got me started. Before that I hadn't really started thinking about teaching," explained Evans. "I'm from the area and went to Portage Northern, but I had a bunch of friends who worked in KPS [Kalamazoo Public Schools]. I applied for both the Loy Norrix and Portage Northern positions, I interviewed for both, and I was offered a position at Loy Norrix."
Evans decided she wanted to leave her students with some words of wisdom to follow when things get tough.
"I feel like I say it all the time, but practice. Especially with a language, you're not gonna get it unless you're trying and practicing and making those errors and learning from them," said Evans.
Photo Credit / Logan Neeley
English teacher Carlotta Frazier talks with a student at the end of one of her classes. Frazier want students to know she is open to them and is willing to help them do what it takes to reach their goals.
"When I was in elementary, I used to play teacher in my basement. From there I moved into multiple avenues that I thought were going to be my career choices and then I landed in a school as a secretary," explained Frazier on why she wanted to become a teacher. "At that time, I realized [that] education was the career path I really have a passion for and wanted to go into. Long story short, I became a non-traditional student, got my bachelor’s degree, then my master’s degree, and here I am 21 years later."
However, Frazier is no stranger to the halls of Loy Norrix.
"I taught at Norrix five years ago. It was my first year teaching high school after being displaced from a middle school working as a literacy coach for three years. I transferred to Kalamazoo Central for three years and then last year worked for Kalamazoo RESA [Regional Education Service Agency] as an educational consultant," said Frazier.
Photo Credit / Logan Neeley
Earth Science and Physics teacher Peter Rose works at his computer during his lunch to prepare for another class. Despite being new to Norrix, Rose finds that his workload is less stressful than with previous positions.
Despite Rose being new to Loy Norrix, he is very familiar with the world of teaching.
"I taught for the last three years at Galesburg-Augusta, and for 15 years before that in Southern Illinois," Rose explained about his past teaching experience. "I live in Kalamazoo, and all three of my kids are KPS students. This is the high school my kids are going to go to. This is the community we live in and I want to teach in the community I live in."
Rose also talked about what really got him into teaching science at a high school level.
"I've always liked science, and in 7th and 8th grade, I had a really good science teacher. She ended up moving to the high school I went to. I also had her sophomore year, junior year, and in an independent study senior year. She was definitely my biggest influence and a big reason why I got into science," Rose continued. "Career scientists live in a very small bubble generally, you see the same handful of people every day. The college level wasn't super attractive to me because of the constant research and publishing and fighting to maintain your position. I like science, but I like teaching more than science, [I like] the interaction and ability to share what I'm doing on a daily basis."
Rose also spoke on his expectations and the impression Norrix has left him with early in the school year.
"It's been a very good impression so far, [I'm] extremely positive. I've had very few issues, fewer than I've had most years," said Rose. "I want to grow the physics program and try to do more exciting things like trips to new places and getting people from the [science] industry to give presentations to get more students excited about physics."
Photo Credit / Brandon Schnurr
Geometry teacher Joey Zahrn converses with students during his lunch period. Zarhn keeps his classroom open during C lunch and invites students to stop by if they want to.
"I like interacting with the students. It's mostly about the relationships I can build with them and trying to make sure they can become good people and make sure they're learning," said Joey Zahrn about why he began teaching. "I interned here and then they offered me a job, so I took it. I like Kalamazoo as a city, and I like very diverse schools."
Despite being a new teacher, Zahrn wants to jump right in to embracing the school and its students. He wants to welcome his own students and letting them know he is available if he is needed.
"Feel free to talk to me, I'm an open book. I'll always be nice and hear you out, and my room is always open," said Zahrn about what he wants students to know about him.
Photo Credit / Logan Neeley
"When I was growing up, I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was five or six [years old]. I went through a time when my parents were divorced when I was very young, and it caused a lot of problems and a lot of attention deficit issues in class. The way that my teachers handled that was by constantly getting angry at me and constantly coming down hard on me," explained Cook. "Part of it is really just to have the ability to do for students what was passed up for me, but I also love teaching and connecting with people."
Cook is nearly brand new when it comes to teaching, with this being his first year as a high school teacher after being a college instructor.
"I moved here three years ago. I was a college instructor for five years,” Cook continued. “I never thought I would be a high school teacher, but I had a few friends teaching at high school level at the time. From talking to them, it seemed really exciting and fun. Lo and behold, I'm teaching freshmen now.”
Counselor Natalie Washigton looks over emails during a slow moment of her busy day of talking to students. Washington replaced Sheryl Scott-Cleary and is now the counselor responsible for students with last names S-Z.
For Washigton, counseling isn't something she's brand new to, also having worked at Dudley School in Battle Creek and with Gryphon Place.
"I was a counselor in Battle Creek for the last two years. During my Master's program, I worked for Gryphon Place, which wasn't exactly counseling, but I was still in the schools working closely with kids," said Washigton. "This [Loy Norrix] is where I did my internship in college, and this is the school that my kids will probably go to when they get to high school."
Washington has outlined some of her priorities as counselor now that she is not only working with the students of Loy Norrix, but also handling the workload that comes with being a guidance counselor.
"I would say to make sure kids feel welcome here [is most important], that they feel cared about and accepted,” explained Washigton. “Obviously grades and scheduling is important too, but I think connecting with kids is the most important thing to me."
Washigton hopes to get involved with students and provide them with the opportunity to receive help where they need it.
"I hope to provide a warm, inviting presence,” said Washington. “I think sometimes it’s helpful for students, it doesn't have to be tense and totally serious all the time. I try to be understanding, to get to know people and really listen to where they're at."
Photo Credit / Brandon Schnurr