Horizon Dec 2023 - Flipbook - Page 28
STAFF Q&As
Associate Head of School Mellany
Barnett Loves Shelton Students
and Staff
How long have you worked at Shelton?
“I have worked at Shelton since 1998,
for 25 years.”
What are your academic qualifications?
“I have a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M and a Master
of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Dallas Baptist
University.”
What do you like about your job?
“I enjoy working with a team to solve problems and offer new
programs and opportunities for students and teachers. In
addition, I love the people I work with.”
What do you like about working at Shelton?
“It is a blessing to work at a school that has had consistency
in our leadership and our mission for many years.”
What is one of your favorite memories about working at
Shelton?
“The incredible eighth-grade graduation party at AT&T
Stadium.”
How has Shelton impacted your daughter?
“Lilly has been here one year and she is a different person. Now
that she’s a senior, she is happy and confident. She feels like she
is seen and that she matters. It is amazing to see this from the
other side after years of hearing it from parents in my office. It is
the recognition, the compliments and the encouragement that
teachers have given that helped her overcome anxiety and have
the confidence to speak up and get involved. Our teachers are
champions. My family is forever grateful.”
Which of your Shelton colleagues do you admire?
“I admire the teachers who support each other like family and
take the time to acknowledge the positive, helpful acts of their
colleagues. I love reading the Sunshine Shout Outs and seeing
the real friendships among our staff.”
Fifth-Grade Teacher Jean Huddleston
Loves Shelton Kids
How long have you worked at Shelton?
“This is my 31st year at Shelton.”
What are your academic qualifications?
“I graduated from SMU with a degree in
Education (K-8). Later at Shelton, I received training to become
a certified Montessori instructor.”
What do you like about your job?
“I love the positive response I get when I tell people I’m
a teacher at Shelton. They are always so impressed. As a
frustrated actress, I love being ‘on stage’ and being able to relay
stories of my life when they are relevant to our discussions.
I love the challenge of looking for ways to improve my
curriculum. But, most of all, it’s all about the kids. Every year I
think I can’t possibly love the next year’s kids as much as I did
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DECEMBER 2023
THE HORIZON
SHELTON SCHOOL
this year’s, but I always do.”
What do you like about working at Shelton?
“One of the greatest things about working at Shelton is that I
am so privileged to work with my fellow fifth-grade teachers.
We respect and deeply care about each other. We are there for
each other in the hard times as well as the happy times. We are
all eager to share with each other, whether it’s a suggestion for
a lesson or advice on how to deal with a challenging situation.
We are more than a team — we are a family.”
What is one of your favorite memories about working at
Shelton?
“Dancing/singing in the Shelton show for our annual fundraiser. I
can still recall hearing G-g Shryer’s beautiful voice and watching
Joyce Pickering tap dance.”
Upper School English Teacher Shelly
Whitfield Likes Learning from Young
People
How long have you worked at Shelton?
“I’ve worked at the Shelton Upper School
for three years.”
What are your academic qualifications?
“I received my B.A. in English at the University of Texas at Austin
and my M.Ed. in English Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona
State University.”
What do you like about your job?
“I like learning from young people and re-visioning the world
through their eyes. Teaching literature and writing gives us
many opportunities to talk about a variety of issues and it gives
me hope about our future when I hear young people discussing
some of the most complicated challenges we face as a society.
Our students often sound more innovative, rational and
inspirational than the voices we hear on the news.”
What do you like about working at Shelton?
“Our students and their wonderful brains! Shelton values the
individual, whether that be teaching style or learning style. We
strive to put best practices first, and this also includes having
the flexibility to discover what works best for us as teachers and
for our students. Like I tell my students and my son, learningdifferent students make learning better for all students, and
they definitely make me a better teacher.”
What is one of your favorite memories about working at
Shelton?
“One of my favorite memories was during my first semester
teaching at Shelton. It was the early fall of 2020 and we were
still online and the students in one of my lively tenth-grade
World Literature classes decided to all log in wearing funny,
oversized hats. They didn’t say a word, just jumped into the
class warm-up, trying not to laugh. However, we soon were all
laughing. Shelton nurtures those kinds of moments.”
What teacher had the most impact on you?
“My 9-year-old son, Knox, has been my most inspirational and
challenging teacher. I didn’t know what I didn’t know until he
came along.”