Meet the New Teachers

This year a variety of new teachers have joined the academic department.

Brittney Armijo:

Armijo is a new chemistry teacher who has been teaching all her life.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

A: “New Mexico State University.”

Q: What was your major?

A: “Chemistry.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

A: “Well, I really like LISD and the position opened and I applied, and here I am.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

A: “I definitely like that within the department, we all work together and try to be as cohesive as possible. All of the students are getting all the information at the same time. I really like that. The students have always been good, so that’s a plus.”

Q: What can students do to survive your class?

A: “Give a lot of effort; put work into it, obviously.”

Tina McLaughlin:

McLaughlin is the new 10th grade English teacher and has been teaching for 26 years. She used to coach volleyball, basketball, and track at Creekview High School.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

A:“I graduated from the University of North Texas.”

Q: What was your major?

A:“I have a major in Kinesiology to teach P.E and then my minor is English.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

A:“My two kids are here, I have a ninth grader and I have a senior daughter. They both are in athletics and I wanted to be closer to them. I had the opportunity to be closer to them.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

A:“I like the other teachers; they’re great to work with. I like the class schedule:that we’re on an accelerated block. I work with a less number of students, so instead of having eight class periods a day and teaching 160 kids, the whole year I only have 70 [students] for half of the year.”

Q: What can students do to survive your class?

A: “Make sure you come to class everyday. Turn in your work on time. Just get it done and work in class. Put forth the effort in the class and use the class time you have to get the work done.”

Jerome Evangelista:

Evangelista has been teaching for 14 years in both the Philippines and the United States. He teaches Chemistry and has taught Biology, Physics, eighth grade sciences, and environmental science.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

“The Technological University of the Philippines. It’s like the MIT (Massachusetts institute of Technology) here.”

Q: What was your major?

“Chemistry, it’s always been chemistry.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

“It’s a good opportunity. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Hebron. I used to teach down in southeast Dallas at a charter school. Totally different circumstances, because of the location I guess. So I just wanted to have a better situation, closer to where I live. Also, the area is better.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

“As of now, I really like the involvement of the students in their education. About 90 percent are really trying. That’s really surprising, because a lot of the kids aren’t really motivated in learning. Also, the parents are really involved, which is good because the parents and teachers are partners in developing the students to become a better person and a better citizen.”

Q: What can students do to survive your class?

“Do their work. I think that’s for every class. Chemistry builds up, so if you misunderstood the first parts, you’re going to struggle in the latter part. It’s like that in every subject, I would assume. If you start to slack off in any part, you will struggle because there’s no way you can catch up. Just do the work from beginning to end and you’ll be successful. In my class, I always prepare [the students] for the next level, because in the Philippines I was a college professor, so I know what it takes and what they need for them to be successful. So that’s how I teach my class, so they’re prepared for the next level.”

Kelly Carney:

Carney has been teaching for 11 years and teaches science. She will be teaching IPC (Integrated Physics and Chemistry) here at Hebron.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

A: “I originally graduated from UNC (University of North Carolina) Wilmington. I moved to Dallas right out of graduation; my best friend lived here. I went to UTD (University of Texas Dallas). I went through their education certification degree there, and because I had so much science from my original degree, I only had to take a few education courses.”

Q: What was your major?

A: “A parks and recreation degree, like a leisure service management. With that it had a lot of environmental science behind that because I wanted to be a park planner.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

A: “I was at a point where I wanted a change. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted a change. From there, that next year, I started looking into other curriculums. I was really drawn back into Physics and Chemistry. The IPC position was brought to my attention, and I said “You know what? That’s where I’m good.” There was one that popped up at Hebron. I know Mr. Finch, he hired me at Durham. So he hired me once, maybe he’ll hire me again.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

A: “I love the positive energy. Everyone is very friendly. I love the administration; everybody has that service aspect. I feel like it’s a great leadership model and it makes me more aware of what can I do for my students.”

Q: How can students survive your class?

A: “Do your part. I’m pretty straight forward; I don’t beat around the bush much. I respect the time that I have with my students and I need them to respect that time as well. When I go home, I’m a mom. When the students go home, they’re a musician, an artist, they’re a kid. I feel like the time we have together needs to be valued and respected, and everyone has to do their part while they’re here. Be present in the class, also pay attention, write notes, participate in the activities. Take that extra step to comprehend.”

Cody Krueger:

This will be Krueger’s first full time year teaching. He used to be a long-term sub at Richardson High School. Krueger will be teaching Physics and Earth and Space science, which is the first time it’s being offered here.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

A: “I graduated from UT (University of Texas) El Paso.”

Q: What was your major?

A: “I graduated with a degree in Engineering, because I was an engineer before this.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

A: “Well, I’m surprised by how strong the school is, so I’m really lucky to be here. It’s just a great place to be. All the kids here are really top level so I was like, ‘wow.’ That’s a big draw for any teacher. I wouldn’t have applied here if I hadn’t done my research and found that we perform pretty well here.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

A: “The level of maturity and responsibility on everybody, the students and the teachers. Everybody’s on their A-game. It’s a really good dynamic and a really good atmosphere.”

Q: What can students do to survive your class?

A: “Like I told them the first day, just be honest with me. I know we got rules and deadlines but life happens, things happen and if there are any difficulties, I’m here to work it out. I’m human, they’re human – all of this is flexible we can all work together. It’s not do or die. Just be honest and open and we can always work things out.”

Jason Gwyn:

Gwyn has been teaching for six years, five in the Lewisville district and one year in Little Elm. Gwyn will be teaching sociology and has taught U.S history and psychology before.

Q: Where did you graduate from?

A: “Texas Tech.”

Q: What was your major?

A: “Exercise and sports science and psychology. I got a dual degree.”

Q: What brought you to Hebron?

A: “The last softball coach (Staci Jackson) was a friend of mine in college, nd when her assistant job came up, she asked me if I’d be interested and I told her ‘yeah.’ So, I came on over.”

Q: What do you like about the school?

A: “I love the pride that everybody has at Hebron. I love that it’s multicultural; it’s a very diverse group and the kids and families here are great.”

Q: What can students do to survive your class?

A: “Pay attention. Turn your stuff in. If you’re not having fun with it, you won’t enjoy it very much. I try to make my class fun and we do a lot of class discussions. All you got to really do is stay awake and pay attention.”