Teacher of the Month
May
Laurie Doll
Laurie is an intensive reading teacher at Lakewood Middle School. She has been a teacher for 37 years total, with 19 years at Lakewood Middle. She was inspired to pursue teaching by her elementary teachers, who instilled in her a passion, dedication and motivation to teach children. She continues to strive to be the best teacher while trying to make a positive difference in the lives of her students. Her favorite part of teaching is building relationships with students and staff members. She enjoys taking an interest in others and showing people she cares. She prioritizes showing students that someone is "there" for them, finding that this helps them work hard to meet all of their goals. Some fun facts about Laurie include that she enjoys watching sports, being outside, walking and gardening and loves spending time with her family including her three beautiful grandsons!
April
Megan Johnson
Megan is an English teacher at Lakewood Middle School. She has been teaching for 20 years and began her career at Schilling Elementary, where she taught reading for one semester before moving to Lakewood. She was inspired to pursue teaching as a profession by her mother, who was a licensed daycare provider when she was growing up, as well as her two older sisters, who are both teachers. Megan’s favorite part of teaching is helping her students overcome challenges and build positive connections with their classmates.A fun fact about her is that she had the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a Kansas City Royals game the year they won the 2015 Championship.
March
Laine Kinion
Laine is a special education teacher at Lakewood Middle School. He teaches reading, math and social studies. He has been teaching for two years—both at Lakewood. Laine was inspired by his aunt, as well as many of his own teachers throughout his life to pursue teaching as a profession. His favorite aspect of teaching is seeing his students finally understand a concept they have been struggling with. A fun fact about Laine is that in his free time he enjoys playing board games and video games.
February
Diana Boley
Diana is a sixth-grade special education teacher at Lakewood Middle School. She has been teaching for a total of 44 years. Diana was inspired to pursue teaching by many outstanding educators, particularly her fourth grade teacher and her high school physics, chemistry, and home economics teachers. Diana has always loved learning and takes great joy in guiding and watching children as they grow and develop their knowledge. Her favorite part of teaching is building meaningful relationships with her students and their families, as well as collaborating with fellow staff members. Some fun facts about Diana include her experience teaching nearly every subject, K-12, aside from P.E. and music. She made the switch to special education in 2008 and discovered what she had always wanted to do "when she grew up!"
January
Kyle Ukena
Kyle is an industrial arts & technology education teacher (Tech. Ed.) at Lakewood Middle School. Kyle has been teaching for 16 years total, all at Lakewood. Inspired by great educators from his own childhood, he chose to pursue the pathway of teaching. One of his great joys is being able to build connections with students and follow their successes throughout their time within USD 305. He also loves encountering former students in the community and catching up on their achievements. A fun fact about Kyle is that this year he embraced the opportunity to teach Tech. Ed. for the first time.
December
Nancy Williams
Nancy is a seventh and eighth grade art teacher at Lakewood Middle School, where she has been inspiring students for 27 years. Her passion for teaching was sparked by her own former teachers, who recognized her natural leadership abilities, curiosity, and talent for making others feel welcome. Nancy enjoys the relationships
she has built with both her co-workers and students. Her greatest joy in life is bringing the arts to everyone and promoting the belief that art is for all—not just for those who are "good at it." She champions the idea that practice will show results. A fun fact about Nancy is that nine of Lakewood’s current staff members were once her students.
November
John MacKinney
John is a seventh grade social studies teacher at Lakewood Middle School. He has been teaching at Lakewood for the past six years. John previously worked in the sales and manufacturing industry for 20 years, he chose to return to school and finish his education program he started 28 years ago. John’s favorite part about teaching is being around the students and seeing them laugh and smile. He enjoys seeing students expand their knowledge and realize they understand the topics. A fun fact about John is that he likes turtles.
October
Dean Heckethorn
Dean is a sixth grade counselor at Lakewood Middle School. He has been teaching for 36 years total, three of those being at Lakewood. In college Dean realized he was not interested in working an office job but he was inspired by his father and his accounting teacher, Mr. Baker. And, he was interested in coaching. He chose a career path in education. Dean finds it rewarding to see students mature academically and develop towards their potential. A fun fact about Dean is that he was a basketball manager at K-State and he has coached five different sports in total.
September
Mitch Boggs
Mitch is a sixth grade history teacher at Lakewood Middle School and has been teaching for 16 years, all of which have been at Lakewood. He was drawn to teaching because of his love of history. His recent inspiration and motivation has been his love for spreading knowledge to others through asking questions. Mitch’s favorite part about teaching is when his students ask meaningful questions and gain a deeper understanding. Mitch finds that staying busy with meaningful work gives him pure joy.