Konza Environmental Education Program
Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research
Teacher Profiles 2005
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Konza Environmental Education Program Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research Teacher Profiles 2005 |
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Teacher |
Classroom Unit |
Prairie Site |
| Deb Abernathy, Randolph |
KPBS & Blue Valley-Randolph Scott Johnson Memorial Trail |
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| Deb Abernathy is a high school math teacher at Blue Valley-Randolph. Deb has taught at Blue Valley High School for five years and was previously at Manhattan High School for 17 years. Her interest in incorporating the natural sciences into the math curriculum began several years ago with a field trip to Konza Prairie and then teaming with Tish Simpson and other science faculty to develop the Wildcat Natural Area at the Manhattan High School West Campus. Now she is primed to do a similar project with the Scott Johnson Memorial Outdoor Classroom at Blue Valley Randolph with science staff members Kellie Milner and Mike Gritten. The Abernathy family recently moved to a rural part of northern Riley County and would like to put the naturalization practices learned at Konza Prairie in place on their 17 acres. | ||
| Mary Kate Baldwin, Topeka |
W. Clement Stone Nature Center |
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| Mary Kate Baldwin has taught at Topeka Collegiate School for fourteen years. She is the Lower School Science teacher, working with 202 students ranging from pre-kindergarten through 5th grades. She also runs two summer camps, part of Topeka Collegiate School’s Summer Adventures Program, a two-week nature camp and a two-week caving and canoeing camp. Mary Kate graduated from Washburn University with a degree in Secondary Math. She enjoys herpetology, photography, backpacking, line dancing, telling school stories, and sharing these interests with her students. | ||
| Lori Coles, Meade |
Meade State Park |
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| Lori Coles teaches at Meade High School. As one of two science instructors at Meade, she teaches Biology, Chemistry, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Principles of Science. She also teaches outreach classes for Seward County Community College. Lori is also the Meade High School Science Club sponsor, Scholars Bowl coach and NCA/School Improvement Building Chair. Lori has lived almost all of her life in Kansas, moving from the southwest corner to the southeast corner and then back to the southwest. She attended Emporia State University, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Science from Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma. She has a MS in Biology from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. Lori’s husband was in the military for 4 years, and while he was stationed in Panama, their two sons were born. Boy Scouts have been a very important part of their lives. Lori has worked as the Nature Director at the council camp for two summers as well as worked with boys on a variety of merit badges. Through Boy Scouts she has spent a lot of time hiking, camping, etc. In her spare time she reads and does cross stitch for relaxation. Visit her website at http://www.loricoles.homestead.com. | ||
| Donna Cooper, Hays |
KPBS, Hays High Natural Study Area & Ft. Hays State University Relict Prairie |
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| Donna Cooper is a Biology teacher at Hays High School. She was born in western Oklahoma, grew up in southern Oklahoma, and received a BA from Oklahoma College for Women with a major in Biology and minor in Chemistry. Her teaching career started with Biology at Northeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska which was followed by teaching middle school English one year in Salina, Kansas before moving to Hays, Kansas where she has been teaching Science since 1968. After moving to Hays she received a MS from Fort Hays State University in Biology and Secondary Curriculum. Her husband is a radio announcer in Hays, and they have two sons and two granddaughters. Donna enjoys outdoor nature study, and her favorite activities include birds, wildflowers and herps. She also enjoys swimming, gardening, and reading. After she retires she would like to continue working with youth in environmental field work. | ||
| Mike Gritten, Randolph |
KPBS & Blue Valley-Randolph Scott Johnson Memorial Trail |
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| Mike Gritten teaches 5th – 8th grade Science at Randolph Middle School. He received his BS in Elementary/Middle School education, has a Master’s in K-12 Administration, and is completing a Master’s in Special Education. Mike also coaches football, basketball, track, and the Physics club. He has been married for 15 years. His wife teaches special education in the Blue Valley-Randolph school district, and they have four children, in 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th grades. Mike’s hobbies include woodworking, basketball, and spending time with his children. He owns and operates Gritten’s Mobile Workshop. | ||
| Christy Hammer, Sharon Springs |
Sherman County Wildlife Refuge |
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| Christy Hammer teaches 9th – 12th grade Science at Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs. Her courses include Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Advanced Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Project Biology. She attended Colby Community College, and graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor’s degree. She grew up on a farming and ranching operation and still enjoys ranching with her family as a side profession. Christy’s husband is a vice-president of a local bank, and they have three children ages ten, six and four. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, and spending time with her children. | ||
| Kelly Landes, Junction City |
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) |
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| Kelly Landes recently completed her first year of teaching as a 7th grade Science teacher at Junction City Middle School. Kelly received a BS in Chemistry with a minor in Math from Wichita State University. After graduation, she worked as a chemist at Midwest Research Institute for 4 years in Kansas City, Missouri. Then she worked at Metcalf & Eddy Environmental Engineering Division for 3 years in Kansas City, Missouri, and Detroit, Michigan. After the birth of her daughter, she was a full-time stay-at-home mom for about 5 years. When she moved to Junction City in 1997, she went back to school part-time at Kansas State University and graduated with a Secondary Science education degree. She has been married for 17 years, and has two children ages fifteen and twelve. | ||
| Kellie Milner, Randolph |
KPBS & Blue Valley-Randolph Scott Johnson Memorial Trail |
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| Kellie Milner teaches Science at Blue Valley High School in Randolph. The 2005-2006 school year will be her tenth year of teaching, and her third year at Blue Valley. Before teaching at Blue Valley, Kellie taught Science at Centralia High School, where she also sponsored, coached, or arranged just about every type of sporting event. Sports are a big part of Kellie’s life, and she rarely misses a Blue Valley Rams sporting event. Kellie is also a huge K-State fan. She graduated from Kansas State University and is working on a Master’s through Nebraska-Kearney. | ||
| Sue Steanson, Neodesha |
Private land in Wilson County |
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| Sue Steanson has worked for USD 461, Neodesha, Kansas, since 1991. She has worked as a learning assistant in the resource room, a seventh grade Earth Sciences teacher, a ninth grade Physical Science teacher, an alternative school teacher, and is a currently full-time Science teacher. She attended Baker University, in Baldwin City, Kansas for two years and then graduated from Kansas State University (KSU) in Zoology. After graduation, she participated in the Teachers for West Africa Program, and taught science to junior high students in the Ghana Secondary School in Koforidua, Ghana for two years. After 17 years away from Kansas, Sue came back to Kansas and eventually completed a degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Science from KSU. Sue’s husband is the agricultural loan office and vice-president of the First Neodesha Bank and together they raised six children (three boys and three girls) and now have ten grandchildren (seven boys and three girls). They enjoy reading, traveling, hiking, trail riding, camping, and spending time with their children and grandchildren. Sue especially likes horses, birding, fossil and rock hunting and wildflowers. After Sue retires she hopes to continue working in a conservation/environment-related field with school-age children. | ||
| Dee Wilson, Stilwell |
Wilderness Science Center |
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| Dee Wilson graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Elementary Education. Many years later she earned a Master’s from Oklahoma State University in Environmental Science with an emphasis in environmental education. She began her teaching career in Oklahoma twenty-eight years ago. In Oklahoma she spent most of her thirteen years teaching 4th – 5th grades and one year as a Science teacher for 1st – 6th grades. Dee left Oklahoma to become an environmental science resource teacher in a Kansas City, Missouri environmental magnet school. After eight years in Kansas City, she left to become the District Coordinating Teacher for the new Wilderness Science Center (WSC) in Stilwell, part of the Blue Valley School district. During the 2004-2005 school year, WSC provided field experiences for over 6,000 students. Dee’s hobbies and interests include backpacking, canoeing, camping, traveling, photography, tennis, and learning to draw. | ||