![Kendra Maddux named Hale Middle School Teacher of the Year]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1707772618/tulsaschoolsorg/vkod5re1znexiwgkzb7z/KendraMaddux-1.png","width":1920}])
Kendra Maddux (bottom center) and fellow Hale Middle School teachers on a professional development trip
Kendra Maddux is the 2023-2024 Hale Middle School Teacher of the Year!
Kendra joined the Hale Middle School team in 2019. She teaches 7th grade science and serves as the site asset manager and site tech.
"I had a science teacher when I was in 9th grade that inspired me to stay within the science field, and when I went to college, I left myself an option of either working in a laboratory or becoming a teacher. I worked in a lab for three years and then started doing afterschool programs, summer camps, and back to school nights with a company that specializes in teaching science. From there I started to think that I wanted to teach full time. I moved back to the Tulsa area, signed up for the Tulsa Teacher Corps in the summer of 2019, started teaching at Hale Middle School the same year, and then I became fully certified."
Kendra's first year in the classroom was interrupted by the pandemic, but she said it helped her better understand her students and the issues they face.
"This helped me learn how to reach all students with content and have a variety of teaching strategies," she said. "One of the things that I enjoy the most is getting students more interested in science. We perform lab experiments on Friday, and we have a science fair at the end of the year. It really helps get students invested in science and they will tell me that they disliked science at the beginning of the year, but it became one of their favorite topics that year. I also always enjoy when former students come up to me and can still discuss something that they learned in class."
Outside of work, Kendra loves exploring state and national parks, going rock hounding, and road tripping across the country.