A brief bit about me
I am the STEM Coordinator at Coppell High School and the Coppell ISD CTE Lead. I have been with CISD since 2003 and started the CHS School of Engineering in 2006. The School of Engineering is a 4-year pre-college engineering program focusing on design in which learners work on projects that prepare them for college STEM disciplines. Activities expose learners to design, applications of math and science, electronics, kinematics, and coding. Learners have begun Swift Playgrounds and Swift as a core component of their coding instruction.
Students in my program learn about engineering design through a variety of projects including iOS App Development and building solar cars. |
I was honored as an Apple Distinguished Educator in the spring of 2017. This past spring in May 2018, the Siedel Chapter of the Air Force Association named me their Chapter Teacher of the Year. In 2015, the Metroplex Technology Business Council named me the Tech Titan of the Future for High Schools. Prior to that, I was presented with the Excellence in Engineering Education award from National Instruments and was named a runner up for the DiscoverE Educator Award.
See more on the awards page.
See more on the awards page.
Teaching Experience
Our program manifesto:
We are a family that believes: 1. Design begins with Empathy 2. You must find a way to admire and respect every member of the team 3. In god we trust, all other's must bring data 4. Create success! Don't wish for it. 5. Stand on the shoulders of giants. 6. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. |
I have been teaching for 16 years and have a BS degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington. Currently, I am working toward my Masters in Digital Leading and Learning from Lamar University. When you walk into my classroom you will notice a strong, purposeful intention to be focused on the individual learner. I like the fact that my classroom feels comfortable and my students, along with others not in my class, feel welcome and safe here. My students truly run things. They have a say in how they express their mastery. They determine the direction projects take. They own their learning.
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Family
I know most students don't believe I have a life outside of the school, but I do! I have a daughter and two step-sons who have all graduated from high school. Education is in my family. My wife teaches at CMS East, my sister and her husband are teachers. My dad and mother-in-law are retired teachers. I have lost count of the number of extended family members are also teachers.
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Hobbies
These are a few things I really enjoy doing in my free time:
- Running
- Programming
I like running. It gives me a chance to clear my head and a chance to push myself in other areas. It started out with me just trying to run a 5k without stopping. As I kept running, I found that the runs would clear my head and help me process the day. By the time I got back, things that were bothering me would be forgotten if they weren't important. If they were important, I usually found a solution. Eventually, 3 miles didn't do the job. Eventually, I was running longer and longer. Kinda crazy.
Teaching Philosophy
If I had to sum up my teaching philosophy in one sentence, it would be that students learn best when they are engaged in a creative environment that they are passionate about.
A school is a place for learning, not a place for teaching. Just as coding is one tool to help solve problems, teaching is one tool to help learning take place. To that end, I believe that the best learning environments are one's in which students are challenged to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Through these challenges, we can build in the natural opportunities for learning to take place. When students are active and willing participants in the learning process, they learn deeper and more strongly.
Taking risks is the only way to make progress. This is true both in and out of the classroom. Teachers and students should feel supported in taking risks. Theodore Roosevelt summed up the reasons very well:
A school is a place for learning, not a place for teaching. Just as coding is one tool to help solve problems, teaching is one tool to help learning take place. To that end, I believe that the best learning environments are one's in which students are challenged to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Through these challenges, we can build in the natural opportunities for learning to take place. When students are active and willing participants in the learning process, they learn deeper and more strongly.
Taking risks is the only way to make progress. This is true both in and out of the classroom. Teachers and students should feel supported in taking risks. Theodore Roosevelt summed up the reasons very well:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Leadership• District Secondary CTE Lead
• CTE Department Chair • CTE Instructional Coach • STEM Coordinator |
Recent Awards• Air Force Association, Siedel Charter Teacher of the Year
• Apple Distinguished Educator • Coppell High School Teacher of the Year nominee |
Recent Publications• 3D Printing with a Purpose
• IC Dual Stopwatch • STEM Endorsement Guide • 3D Printing Training |
Recent Certifications• Certified SolidWorks Associate
• Texas 9-12 Physical Science, Mathematics, and Engineering • Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer |