Part of what Stephanie Coxwell found so surprising about being named Teacher of the Year for Midway Hills Academy is that she’s only been teaching for five years, and during that time she’s had struggles. What repeatedly separates Coxwell from other teachers is her remarkable talent for synthesizing those struggles into positive results, both for herself and for her students.
“My very first year, I struggled with classroom management,” Coxwell said, “And it turned out I needed a classroom management plan. So I’ve really worked on that, and worked on building relationships with the students and letting them know my boundaries as well as theirs. It’s been a lot better since.”
“I want them to know that they can succeed, and that somebody does care about them personally as well as academically. I go out of my way to make sure that they’re okay and that they’re learning.”
That analytical perspective is part of what Coxwell imparts to the classroom as a science teacher, and it's woven into the fabric of what makes her teaching so resonant with students. “I struggled a lot as a student,” Coxwell said, “I struggled making friends. I struggled with my work. And I cannot remember an instance where a teacher tried to take their time to get to really know me until I was in high school. So when I notice a student struggling, I tell them I understand. What can we do differently? How would you prefer to learn this material?”
By cultivating close relationships with her students, Coxwell has built a repertoire of approaches for unique learners that builds with every student. “STEM itself is all differentiation,” she said, “It’s hands-on, it’s movement, it’s talking, it’s graphic organizing… I also use the National Science Standards and grade-level bands… I do a lot of pre-teaching before actual hands-on activities.”
Coxwell grew up in Thomaston, Georgia and later moved to Putnam County where she graduated from high school. Her father went to prison when she was in second grade, and afterward, she had a really hard time building relationships. At school, she always felt unnoticed, and she didn’t want other students to feel that way. At the end of the school year, the teachers would clean out their desks and give Coxwell the used workbooks and she would take those home and roleplay teacher and student with her sister, who would also later become a teacher. She’s always felt an inherent duty in serving the unseen child.
“Once students start struggling, they shut down and they think they can’t do it,” Coxwell said, “I want them to know that they can succeed, and that somebody does care about them personally as well as academically. I go out of my way to make sure that they’re okay and that they’re learning.”
Her interdisciplinary and inter-relational approach has made the last school year a banner year in her five years within the District. Not only did she co-write a grant with the MHA Food Corps representatives for an expansion of the school garden, but she’s collaborated with teachers across every grade level at various times. Whether by accommodating science teachers through organizing the school’s materials and invoicing, but also by taking material orders. She chaired the Science Fair Committee in which every participant from Midway Hills Academy school placed either first or second.
Students are excited to go to Coxwell’s class now, and why wouldn’t they be? “They get to build race cars, and actually race them,” Coxwell said, “Third graders got to analyze the Three Little Pigs.They built parachutes to help Jack escape the beanstalk. So they really enjoy it. They enjoy the engineering stuff!”
Coxwell proves every day that STEM can not only help you break down problems into identifiable solvable questions, but that the struggle to answer those questions yields compounding positive results over time, and that although the struggle itself is never fun, it can take you to a place that is.
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