McMillen Minute
Week of December 9th
Campus News
Teacher of the Year Nominees
Danielle Aguilar
I’m Danielle Aguilar. I currently teach Video Game Design, AP Computer Science Principles and Computer Science I. Growing up, somethings came naturally, but most things required a lot of work. Helping others came naturally. Constantly, I remember my family volunteering in our community. Lending a hand made any place feel like home. Other things were not as easy. My mother was the one who discovered my dyslexia. Reading and writing were arduous and burdensome, but my mom always encouraged me. Always pushed me. Eventually creating within me a love of learning. I pushed myself and went through the International Baccalaureate program. I left for college knowing that I wanted to help people. I was not sure how until I was assisting peers in a math class with concepts I had initially deemed as easy. They struggled as I had. There is a kinship in preserving similar experiences and I took on a new role. This time I could encourage, push and lead my peers through their struggle to understanding. I pursued a degree in secondary mathematics education and minors in computer science and honors. I think that everyone can learn. Struggle is not to be feared, but embraced and faced head-on. I believe that those that have the ability to serve in a unique way should try to fill the gap where they can. This is why this year I left my role as the geometry team lead to teach 3 new classes after our school lost an extraordinary educator.
Cortney Davis
“I am Cortney Davis. My teaching philosophy is that all students, given the right environment, will use presented learning opportunities to thrive and succeed. I have been fortunate to have had educators who made me feel safe, supported, and valued. They helped me achieve goals that I thought were out of reach. I started teaching in hopes of passing along that excitement to my students. Seeing students express pride in their own accomplishments, from the beginner who finally masters a single pirouette or the drill team member who wins a Grand Champion title, brings me joy that I cannot imagine receiving from another career. The journey to who I am today started at Texas A&M University where I graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology and minors in Business and Dance. My teaching background includes Chemistry, Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Dance I through IV, and elementary education. I have been a district curriculum writer for four years, am a two-year member of Faculty Council, have worked on district textbook and purchasing committees, and attended national, state, and local dance education conferences. I also choreograph and judge for area drill teams. As an educator for 14 years, I am honored to have served half of those in Plano ISD, and four of those as the Dance Instructor in the McMillen Fine Arts Department.”
Damian Flores
My name is Damian Flores and I am honored to be selected by the leadership team as a Teacher of the Year nominee at McMillen High School. I currently teach ESL IPC, IPC, and On-Level Chemistry. While I joined the teaching profession unconventionally, through Region 10 Alternative Certification, I have brought a wealth of life experience and lessons in overcoming hardship to my classroom. I believe that all relationships are built on trust. I demonstrate to students that they can not only trust my content knowledge, gained through advanced Science courses in Pre-medical studies, but also trust me as an adult that cares about their success and well being. I strive to build relationships that encourage others to consider that they are more than they think they are. I chose teaching as a means to pay it forward and pass along the knowledge I have gained in life about grit and determination. I had a Fifth Grade Teacher, with a PhD in Mathematics, admire my academic perseverance, even through undergoing extensive Chemotherapy to treat my childhood Leukemia. He recommended that the Middle School place me in all Honors courses. This feeling of support has fueled my passion for teaching and helping others find out that education can be life changing. I am a strong believer in a growth mindset, but that it must be met with personal responsibility and ownership of their future. I have utilized life lessons gained from being a Long-term Childhood Leukemia Survivor, a difficult upbringing, participating in both Honors and On-Level courses, and other challenging moments in my life to demonstrate to students that education is a way to vault themselves to new heights. I connect with my students and get to know how they work best. We discuss current events, relatable examples, and other phenomena through a scientific lens. Empowering my students to help further empower others is what builds a community. I strive for this atmosphere In my classroom so I can show them the power of building their own relationships as a meaningful strategy for positive life experiences. I talk about how far they can go in life, with effort. I encourage them to adapt and always give their best. I have learned so much from teaching my students and education in such a short time, considering that I have a dual Masters degree in Hospital Administration and had been working in Healthcare as little as 4 years ago. I am truly honored that you have selected me as a Teacher of the Year nominee.
Stephanie Jackson
My name is Stephanie Jackson and I am truly honored that I have been selected for Teacher of the Year at McMillen High School for Plano ISD. I earned my bachelor's degree in Radio/Television/Film from SHSU in 2003. I began my career in education as a 1st grade teacher for Mesquite ISD in the Fall of 2003. By the end of the year, I transferred to Dr. John Horn High School (Mesquite ISD), where I taught ESL English, ESL Reading, and English I-IV, for 9 years. I ended my 11th year of teaching, at West Mesquite High School, teaching the same subjects. In 2009, I became the teacher representative for Invisible Children: Schools for Schools program, and I was able to teach English at the Pabo Secondary School located in a refugee camp, in Gulu, Uganda. In 2012, I came to Plano ISD and was hired at Clark High School and taught ESL and English I and II. In 2016, I was able to continue my career in English and also explore the Social Studies world at McMillen HS. During my 17 years as a teacher, I was LPAC representative for my campuses, Secondary ESL Teacher representative in Austin, Texas for writing 10 TAKS test, conducted numerous home visits on struggling students, and Language Specialist for ESL night school classes for students and parents. As an instructional leader, I have trained teachers in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) for Mesquite ISD and have helped conduct various staff development workshops in technology for Plano ISD. I wanted to become a teacher because I enjoy helping students discover the knowledge that they will need to be productive in the future and become a positive citizen in society. My passion for seeking new knowledge, skills, and various ways to reach every stakeholder, who is invested in the welfare of our school and our district, has been my teaching philosophy since day one. I want to thank every person who has helped me in my journey as an educator and I hope I can do the same for future educators.
Michael Lloyd
My name is Michael Lloyd, and I am honored to be nominated for teacher of the year as an English teacher at McMillen High School. I grew up in the panhandle town of Dumas, Texas until moving to Lubbock where I attended Coronado High School and earned my B.A. in English at Texas Tech University. I originally planned to teach Math, but eventually decided that English was where my heart was leading me. I started teaching in 2000 at Williams High School and have spent my entire career on the East side of Plano ISD, including having the privilege of opening McMillen High School in 2011 where I served as the English department chair for 7 years. I now spend a great deal of my free time at baseball parks cheering on my son in his quest to dominate Little League. One could say education is the family business. Both my parents were educators who placed great value on teaching. My brother is currently an administrator, and my wife also teaches English in the Metroplex. When it comes to teaching, I take the approach that my students deserve the quality of education that I would want for my own child. I believe in setting a high standard for my students, and it is my job to build relationships and do everything in my power to help them reach that standard. I want to empower them, so they can overcome anything they face in their future.