At the Piedmont at El Reno football game, Principal Steve Spears was presented a check for Science and Math education at Piedmont High School by the people of Oklahoma Oil & Natural Gas. 

This support will be benefiting Piedmont STEM programs and teachers. Piedmont teacher Jayme Roper is one of the staff members benefiting from the donation.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your hobbies, your passions.

I love spending time with my husband of 24 years, Jeremy, daughter Tori and son Justyce. We love to camp, watch Oklahoma University football, traveling to Mexico and different places in the U.S. I love to bake and am learning to quilt with my mom.

What classes do you teach?

I teach Programming, Computer Science Principles, Fundamentals of Technology and Accounting.

Where did you go to college and what led you into teaching?

I graduated from UCO, the University of Central Oklahoma in 2016, as an adult with a marketing degree. I have always wanted to be a teacher but life took different turns for me when I was younger. Then, I had an employer that offered to pay for my classes to go back and finish my degree. This eventually lead to be let go due to a loss of customer base. I the felt the Lord telling me to go teach, which is what he had prepared my heart for.

Who mentored you into the educator you are today?

I have several educators in my family that helped lead me to the decision. But as an early educator, there was this one lady, Nikkia Sherrod, that taught across the hall from me. She was also an educator as a second career and she took me under her wing. She taught me how to build relationships first before trying to teach students. They won’t learn if they don’t first have a trust relationship with you. I hear her everyday in my head saying, “this job is not life or death. Calm down, level your head and build. Laugh, cut up, and then they will listen and do what you need them to learn.”

What do you love about teaching?

I love the fact that I get to be the lead-learner in this new exciting world of computer science and STEM. I love that I get to see the excitement in kids’ eyes when they see things they are learning, connect with something in their outside world.

What is great about your current school?

The Piedmont School District has been amazing, they are servant leaders from the top administrators to the teachers serving the students. They have been the best with helping me grow from a classroom management-style teaching to a content-style teaching. They are in and out of the classrooms weekly to just interact with you and the students in your discussions.

Why is teaching Science and Math so important?

I feel that teaching Science and Math is very important in our world today. There are so many opportunities that require these skills that don’t require college after high school. They are giving students confidence to think critically and to have a different opinion than everyone else in the class. They require more hands-on activities to drive home the objectives, that kids interact more in the classroom. The kids don’t realize that there is Math and Science used in their everyday lives.

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