Meet the Class of 2014
Ron Chi
The Learning Center, Administrator, EAD 856 Instructor Ron Chi attended the University of Kentucky - College of Medicine (in Pediatrics), but took a leave of absence during his second year to pursue his childhood ambitions of becoming just a classroom teacher. He was selected for the prestigious Melon Fellowship in Urban Education studies at Teachers College – Columbia University where he received his masters in science/math education. He is currently writing his doctoral dissertation at The University of the Cumberlands. Ron’s educational leadership experiences is diverse. He has taught in Harlem and lower Manhattan and at Winburn Middle School in Lexington. He has been invited to speak on equity in the classroom, student empowerment and engagement, and leadership 360 topics. Ron is the founding program director and principal of The Learning Center (TLC) at Linlee, where promotion of higher education and product (process) based learning revolves around student and community empowerment. This community empowerment includes and is driven by the students and faculty at TLC as well as outside expert community members. Together they are constructing a future education model focused on real world career/technology preparedness. TLC is preparing seventh through twelfth grade students, who are familiar to personal struggle, tragedy and hard life challenges for purposeful living and college/career planning through TLC’s “Life-Support” leadership system and curriculum. Ron is married and has three children, Zach, Tristan and Jonah. |
Janet Bertrand
Dixie Elementary, 3rd grade teacher Janet is originally from Lexington, KY and graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1980. She earned her BA in Business Administration in 1986 from the University of Kentucky and worked in the private sector as an Operations Manager for YRC Worldwide before returning to UK to follow a career in education. She graduated with a BA in Elementary Education in 1999, and a MA in Reading and Writing in 2003. She began teaching at Dixie Magnet Elementary in 2000. She has participated in several Fayette District Curriculum Development and Professional Learning Communities Leadership opportunities including FOCUS, TOTAL, and Design and Develop Next Generation Science Standards. |
Lynne Birmingham
Wellington Elementary, 4th grade teacher Lynne is a Lexington, KY native and graduated from Lafayette High School in 2000. She earned her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky in 2006 and completed her MA in Reading and Writing at Georgetown College in 2010. Her experience in the Fayette County Public School System includes two years teaching third grade at Northern Elementary, four years as a curriculum coach at Cardinal Valley Elementary, and two years teaching fourth grade at Wellington Elementary. She has participated in numerous Fayette County Curriculum Development and Leadership organizations including ASLP, TOTAL, and Design and Develop English Language Arts Standards. |
Erin Black
Squires Elementary, Spanish teacher (K-5) Erin is originally from Lexington, KY and graduated from Lafayette High School in 2003. She obtained a BA in International Business and Spanish from Georgetown College in 2007. She never thought she'd be a teacher, but at the urging of her high school Spanish teacher (and mother of fellow cohort member Beth McKenzie) she began the alternative certification program at Georgetown College. She began and completed her MA in Education at Georgetown in 2009 and "officially" graduated in 2010. She began teaching Spanish I and II at Lafayette High School in January 2010. Now that she's teaching she can't imagine doing anything else! "I came from a “broken home” for lack of a better term. Not as broken as some, but from the time I was in the third grade until my junior year of college there were always things going on that could have affected me in negative ways. That’s something I try to look for in my students now. When parents tell me that they are going through a divorce, I make sure to let them know that if their child would like to talk to someone who is familiar with what they’re going through that they can always come and talk to me." |
Heather Brooks
Dixie Magnet Elementary, RTA Intervention/Reading Specialist Heather is originally from Hazard, Kentucky and graduated from Perry County Central High School in 1997. She obtained her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky in 2003 and she continued her studies at UK to obtain a MA in Reading and Writing in 2010. She has been a primary teacher in Fayette County for over a decade. Heather joined Dixie Magnet Elementary in 2012 as a Literacy Specialist. |
Cindy Brown
Lexington Traditional Magnet School, 8th grade English teacher Cindy works at Lexington Traditional Magnet School as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher and also serves at the Extra Curricular Curriculum Coordinator. She has fifteen years of teaching experience and has earned her National Board Certification. Cindy was an Ashland Oil Teacher of the Year Award Winner. "Excellence in education comes with practice, trail and error, a willingness to take risks and the ability to learn from your failures/mistakes. My teaching philosophy is simple. In order to become an excellent teacher, you must be willing to face each day with a new since of purpose, a desire to overcome challenges and a positive attitude that what you do does make a difference. My philosophy is centered primarily around three main components: building relationships, providing content that is rigorous, and being open and willing to continue to develop my instructional practices." "Excellence is not a singular act; it's a habit. You are what you repeatedly do." -- Shaquille O'Neal |
Tammy Drury
Meadowthorpe Elementary Tammy teaches 3rd grade at Meadowthorpe Elementary School. She grew up being an at-risk student coming from a rural area of poverty and having neither parent graduate high school. She overcame these obstacles and became, and still is, the first and only person in her family with a 4-year college degree. She is currently working on her second master's degree. "This class helps me to be more understanding of my students by realizing all students can be at risk at any time during their lives—it’s not just based on lack of money or race. I am motivated by this class to make sure I identify any students BEFORE becoming At-Risk and being proactive in doing all I can to prevent these students from becoming so. I must work to remove as many barriers as I can to their success." |
Michael Embury
Tates Creek High School Michael Embury entered teaching in 1996 as a K-12 music teacher and band and choir director after graduating from EKU. Michael spent time teaching music, band, and choir in Kentucky, Southern Indiana, and the Cincinnati area. After obtaining a Master’s degree in education in 2006 at Miami University of Ohio, Michael completed certification to teach K-12 special education at the University of Cincinnati. Since that time, Michael has spent time working with children and their parents through programs through Hamilton County (Ohio) MRDD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and as a teacher and case manager of students with disabilities. Currently, Michael serves students at Tates Creek High School teaching resource literacy classes as well as acting as a case manager for students with disabilities. Michael lives with his wife Dusty Columbia Embury, Associate Professor of Education at EKU, Lily Embury, 12, Kentucky Muscular Dystrophy State Ambassador, and Laurel Embury, 9, The Unofficial Queen of Spunk and Challenging Behavior, all of which helps him bring a multi-faceting viewpoint in working with children and students. Michael believes firmly that students will ultimately either rise or stoop meet adult expectations, depending on what those expectations are. |
Danna Green
Southern Elementary, Instructional Curriculum Coach Danna has earned a degree in Elementary Education, a Masters as a Reading Specialist, and another Masters as a Literacy Specialist. She has also received endorsements as a Curriculum and Reading Consultant at both the Elementary and Secondary level. She was awarded the Kentucky Colonel honor for her work in Literacy across the state. Danna's believes that her most recent work on a Masters in Leadership will help her to advance even further in her life’s quest to build confidence in others and help them become the best they can be. "I am so thankful for all the caring people in my life. Both sets of my parents and my teachers showed how much they cared for me and helped me set reachable goals. Because of the stress on my life as I was growing up I was an At-Risk kiddo. My parents divorced when I was five. I can still remember the trauma my mother went through the day my father told her he was leaving. I also remember hanging on his leg and begging him not to leave. Unfortunately, the sadness I felt came back every time I had to leave my dad even when I got older. I only got to see him 4 times a year and my heart broke every time I left him. I lived with my mom, who was a teacher, and I hated leaving her as well. Our money was so low that I remember being concerned about money even as a little girl. I sucked my finger, was shy, and was slow to learn how to read. I felt extreme worry every time I was asked to read out loud. I remember wishing I could become invisible so no one would notice that I couldn’t read. I had to live through an abusive step mother, but thankfully in the end both of my parent married great people and I had wonderful teachers who realized I couldn’t read well. They all worked hard to build my confidence. With their help I became a good reader and excelled in all my classes and became a confident person. Cheerleading gave me the confidence to lose my shyness and become involved in drama and many clubs in High School. I could have easily let my life’s circumstances be an excuse for my own failure, but with the help of the caring adults in my life I was able to be successful and work towards helping other people. I am so thankful for the support people showed in a shy little girl who sucked her finger!" |
Erik Hagen
Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, Special Education teacher (9-12) My name is Erik Hagen and I am a husband, a father, caregiver, and alternative school teacher. My story is one that started in the field of Intercollegiate Athletics and currently is in the field of reaching younger people. After chasing the dream of Division I baseball for 16 years, I volunteered in an after-school program called Urban Impact. Working with students with very little support at home, encouraged my wife and I to shift our focus into the inner city. We both work at schools where “At-Risk” is status quo. If I have one piece of advice if you are working with these students- show them you care, then you can change the way they think. If you can change the way they think, then they can perceive hope. |
Jackie Haynes
The Learning Center, English teacher, Literacy Specialist I began teaching as a means to pay the bills while I waited to return to law school at the University of Kentucky (following an illness). I taught from October through May of the 2001-’02 school year at Leestown Middle and then returned to law school the following year, only to find myself miserable. Teaching is definitely my life’s calling, and I feel that I connect especially well with those students who would be labeled “at risk.” I taught language arts for eight years at Winburn Middle School, where I developed a true passion for students with the greatest needs. I am now in my third year of teaching English/language arts for The Learning Center, an alternative program for students in grades 7-12 in Fayette County. I also serve as my school’s literacy specialist. I think that I bond especially well with African-American students because I see many similarities between African-American culture and my own Appalachian culture. I grew up in an impoverished area, though I did not know that I had lived in poverty until I went away to college and saw how others live. I attribute my desire to get a college degree to my father’s constant voice in my ear, “You will get an education.” And though I was a straight “A” student and had parental support, I became pregnant in January of my senior year of high school and married that same month. I took every opportunity to prove my “haters” wrong, and that is why I persist today and why I overcame being “at risk.” |
Tyrone Johnson
Lexington Traditional Magnet School I have been teaching at LTMS for the past 8 years. I have taught all three curriculums of social studies during my tenure at the school. I have also coached football and basketball for the past 7 years here. Recently I developed a Literacy group for minority males with the focus being to raise the academic achievement level and increase literacy among this particular population group. |
Molly Jones
Henry Clay High School, English teacher Molly Jones is a teacher with 13 years of experience that spans a variety of age levels (elementary, middle school, high school, and college age students), types of schools (public, private, and foreign), and two countries (the United States and France). Certified to teach French and English in the state of Kentucky, she is now in her 9th year at Henry Clay High School and teaching English to freshman in Fayette County. |
Beth McKenzie
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Social Studies Strategies Coach/Teacher Beth McKenzie never thought she would be a teacher. Even upon graduating from Denison University in 2004, she really did not know what she would do. Her mother, a Spanish teacher at Lafayette High School, suggested she take an alternate route to certification to teach high school Social Studies. It turns out, mother really does know best! In her ninth year of teaching, she cannot imagine doing anything else. "In seventh grade, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. I missed over half of the school year and fell far behind my peers. My teachers, along with my mother, decided it would be best if I continued on to eighth grade, even though I had not mastered the skills from seventh grade. Eighth and ninth grades were a struggle for me--particularly in Math. Several teachers in ninth grade commented that I was too talkative in class and did not pay attention. Some said that I was immature. However, my behaviors in class were a defense mechanism. I was scared of failure and chose to avoid the work, rather than push harder to get caught back up. Through the help of some very talented teachers, I slowly became more engaged in school and began to care about my academic future. When working with students, I keep my experience (and behaviors) in mind and truly consider what I can do to engage all students. The relationships that I formed with my teachers have guided and challenged me to do the same for other students who may be struggling." |
Mark Schmidt
Glendover Elementary Mark has taught both regular education and special education in public schools for the last fifteen years at the elementary level. Before that, he spent several years working for an at-risk youth project in his hometown. Mark began his teaching career in New Mexico working mostly with Hispanic students who were primarily the children of undocumented migrant workers. Nearly every student he taught could have been considered at-risk for not graduating from high school. Mark then taught in Vermont for two years, working as a collaboration regular education teacher in a state that believes in full-inclusion for all special needs students. He worked with every disability category of student in the classroom and also team taught. Next, Mark moved to Iowa and began his master's degree in special education and began teaching elementary special education. He has spent the last eleven years working with elementary students with nearly every disability category label. However, he has spent nearly half of that time working as a self-contained EBD classroom teacher. The students he has worked with have all been at-risk and in need of extra support to grow in both behavioral and academic areas. Mark is currently working as a Behavior Coach at Glendover Elementary in Lexington, KY. "This has been a new challenge for me, as I am able to work not only with at-risk students, but assist my peers and colleagues with support for students and general classroom management behavior strategies." |
Tabatha Spencer
Bryan Station High School, Math and Special Education teacher My name is Tabatha Spencer and I have spent the past fifteen years as a high school special education teacher. Prior to entering college and becoming a teacher, I grew up as what could be considered at risk. I was raised by a single mother, after my father died when I was very young. She raised me on a fixed income, which means we didn’t have much money. And, I was identified with a speech impairment in Kindergarten. Despite these many obstacles, I grew up to be what I am now. |
Kara Stacy
Bryan Station High School, Math teacher My name is Kara Stacy and I am a mathematics teacher at Bryan Station High School. I am currently teaching in the IT Program at Station, which allows me to teach through a technology lens. Additionally, I will be teaching mathematics to students in the new StationArts Academy next year. My objective will be to introduce math concepts through an arts perspective. I, myself, was an “at-risk” student. I am originally from Hazard, KY, a small eastern Ky town, where I am a coal-miners granddaughter and working in the industry is expected. However, I never viewed myself as an at-risk student. Honestly, I always felt privileged and had amazing support from my family. However, at times college seemed difficult and unattainable. Yet, I persevered, mostly, because both of my parents and older brothers had walked the path that was set before me. |
Lydia Stokes
Bryan Station High School, English teacher, College and Career Readiness Coach Lydia is originally from Henderson, KY and graduated from Henderson County High School in 2003. She earned her BA in Secondary English Education from the University of Kentucky in 2007 and also completed her graduate studies there as well, graduating with an MA in Curriculum and Instruction in 2008. She began teaching at Bryan Station High School in August 2008. While she has worked at Bryan Station for the past six years as an English teacher, she recently accepted a new position as the school's College and Career Readiness Coach. "While I was always considered a 'good' student (enrolled in AP classes, straight A's, involved in extra-curricular activities, etc.), little did my teachers know that I was definitely an at-risk student. My parents divorced when I was very little, and I was raised by my single mother. We moved a lot and I had to get a job at a fairly young age to help with bills. However, I soon learned that an education was a way out of the small town life and the life I knew awaited me if I didn't do my best, stay in school, go to college, and make something of myself. Because of this desire to become something different and overcome the obstacles that I faced as a child, I exceled in school and made it a personal challenge to push myself no matter what. I often regret not telling others, especially my teachers, about the hardships I faced outside the walls of the day to day school life. However, this is something that I have learned to look for in each and every one of my students. In fact, it is often those you wouldn't suspect who truly need you the most. Any student can be at-risk, from the trouble-making socialite to the quiet, 'nerd' who always completes his or her work. It isn't until you truly KNOW your students that you appreciate each individual and understand what ALL of your students need to be successful." |