Lubbock-Cooper High School

Please see the link below to see the Professional Development schedule -

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_g33IVowQgwS2Fm46rosctdGhBymJnCtQ2egqQx42VQ/edit?usp=sharing

We wanted to take some time and introduce all of the new faces that will be part of the LCHS family. We are welcoming a record number of folks!! Please take time to read each bio and get to know these new Pirates.

I am pleased to be a Pirate!

Five years ago we packed up and moved from Lubbock to the north Fort Worth area when my husband was recruited to start a program. After he began experiencing some health issues a couple of years ago, we realized it was time to come back to our children and extended family here in Lubbock. He now sells real estate. Our grown kids are Allen, who is in IT, Jordan, who is in sales management, and our lovely daughter in law, Emily. They have given us a granddog and three grandcats; my husband was inclined to increase the menagerie by adding a silver labrador puppy, Cinder, to our own home a couple months ago.

I've been teaching English for 18 years; here's the rundown if anybody is interested: 6th grade ELAR, 6th grade Humanities/ELAR, middle school art, English One, 7th grade ELAR, English II PAP, English II, English IV, AP Literature.

This year I will be teaching English II on-level and Honors at the high school. I'm excited to get started and meet my new team!

My name is McKenna Miller, this will be my 5th year of teaching, all being a Lubbock Cooper Pirate :). I graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Education in 2017. My husband is Caleb Miller and we have two loving huskies. This coming year I will be doing Special Ed Inclusion and coaching Basketball and Track. I am very excited to be working at the high school next year, and to continue the journey of being a Pirate.

My name is Victoria Wells! I grew up in small town Texico, New Mexico and made my way to Lubbock for college where I received a bachelor's in Management Information Systems and a master's in Exercise and Sport Sciences. I am married to an amazing man named Cody and have one dog named Quinn and a sweet baby girl on the way whose name will be Blakely! Despite my lack of education degrees, thanks to alt certifications, I have been in education for the past 7 years and have taught every age group from early childhood to college students. This year I am blessed to be at the high school teaching Business Information Management (BIM)! I am so excited to be a part of the Lubbock Cooper community!

I have been teaching math and coaching tennis for 25 years. I have a wonderful wife, Jill, of 23 years, and two great kids, Indy and Sydney. I am looking forward to being the new assistant tennis coach at Cooper High School and being part of the Pirate family!

Hello! My name is Ashley Herrera. I will be teaching Algebra 1 this year. This is my twelfth year in education. I graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor's in Finance and from Lamar University with a Master's in Educational Leadership. I have been married to my wonderful husband for twelve years. We have two little girls that keep us very busy with competitive cheer. Avery is a third grader and Kinsley is in Pre-K. Both of them will be going to Lubbock-Cooper South. When we aren't at the gym, I enjoy reading, making t-shirts, and crafting. I am VERY excited to be a Lubbock-Cooper Pirate!

Christopher Kirby is beginning his 8th year of teaching as the new Assistant Choir Director at Lubbock-Cooper High School. Originally from Plano, TX, he graduated from Wayland Baptist University in December 2013 with a degree in Choral Music Education and from Texas Tech University in August 2020 with a Master's of Music Education. His family includes his wife, Morgan, and two daughters, Sophia and Cecilia, as well as their two dogs, Eddie and Elsa.

I'm so excited to be joining the high school team this year after three great years at Laura Bush!

Hi, my name is DeAndra Howerton. I enjoy riding horses, exercising, going to the lake, and spending time with my family. My husband, Nick, and I just got married in June of this year. We have three dogs, and we love getting to take them on walks and spend time together. I just graduated from Texas Tech, and this will be my first year in a school or as a teacher. I will be teaching Biology at the high school, and I am very excited to get to meet everyone.

My name is Bobbie Kite, and I have been a registered nurse for almost 20 years with most of that spent in Labor & Delivery and women’s health. The last 5 years I have been working for a local non-profit clinic and I have provided the comprehensive sexual education curriculum for LCISD middle schools and high school as well as other local districts. I’ve been married to my husband, Toby, for 21 years and we are a proud Pirate family! We have 3 kids in the district: Karson is a sophomore at LCHS, Piper is a 5th grader at East, and Tripp is a 1st grader at East. This is my first year to teach in the classroom and I’m excited, but a little nervous! I’ll be on theHealth Science CTE team and will be teaching pathophysiology and pharmacology. “

Hello, my name is Deidra Brooks. I grew up in Lubbock and I received my BFA in art education from Texas Tech University. I have been teaching art for the past 19 years. I have been married to my husband Jason for 9 years and am a “bonus” mom to 3 great kids- Devin 22, Lexi 21 and Josh 15. We also have two fur babies; a german shepherd named Luna who loves to play frisbee and a cat named Raziel who wonders why we had to get a dog. I am joining the amazing art department and will teach art 1 classes. I am very excited to join the LCHS family!

My name is Allison Bloss. I am a proud Texas Tech graduate and have been in education for just one year. Last year I was involved in intervention work at Cooper High School, but this year I am excited to be teaching Algebra 2 and coaching track and field. I have been married to my husband Justin for over a year now and he is currently in seminary studying to be a preacher while working at our church. We also have two dogs who run the house!

My name is Chase Thompson. I have a wife, Denise, and a daughter, Brynlee. I have been teaching/coaching for five years now. I will be teaching computer science at the high school this year.

I am Melissa Owings and I will be teaching Marketing at the high school. I have been teaching for 6 years in Denver City, and am so excited to be at Lubbock Cooper. I went to LCU and majored in Business Marketing, and also played volleyball for 4 years. I have been married for 7 years and have 2 kids, Brynley (6), and Jase (3). They will both be attending Cooper North Elementary School.

My name is Jennifer Wade, and I’m going to be one of the new Health Science CTE teachers at Cooper High School this year! I am a Registered Nurse and have worked in Labor and Delivery for the last 11+ years. This will be my first year as a school teacher and I’m so excited for this opportunity!

I have been married to my wonderful husband, Josh, for 19 years. We have 5 kids that range in age from 5 to 18. Gavin, our oldest, just graduated from Cooper this last May. Our daughter Emma will be a sophomore this year. Our three youngest kiddos all go to East Elementary. Reese will be in 5th grade, Campbell will be in 3rd grade, and Brody will be starting Kindergarten.

I’m really looking forward to this new adventure and also to meet everyone! Feel free to offer any advice or point me in the right direction if you ever see me looking lost!!

My name is Michael Welch and I am happily married to my wife for 31yrs. We have nine children and one grandchild. Two have graduated from Cooper High School, Two are in Cooper Middle School this year and I have two at Cooper North Elementary. I have been in some form of education for over 30 years. My wife and I own an early childhood program, and I have been a foster home developer for the past 18 mos. I am excited to finally live my childhood dream and take my knowledge into the classroom. I will be teaching life skills and structured learning Science and Math. I Look forward to being part of the Pirate Nation.

I have been teaching and coaching for 9 yrs and previous to that I spent 9 yrs at Texas Tech in the Athletic Marketing Office.

I am married to Heather Tressler, who teaches at LCMS and we have two children, Levi (10) and Kinslee (4), whom both attend Cooper South Elementary.

I have three kids, they will be in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade. My husband and I will celebrate our 20 year anniversary in December! I love to be outdoors, preferably with water. My favorite places are Port Aransas, Lubbock Water Rampage, and Buffalo Springs Lake.

In my 13 years of teaching, I have taught 7th grade, 8th grade, Biology, IPC, and Chemistry. This year I will be teaching Chemistry and Robotics.

My name is Mark Hamlin, and I will be teaching Biology and AcaDeca this school year. I graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. I have 2 years of experience teaching at the high school level. I am also recently married to a wonderful women named Becca Hamlin. I am excited to have the opportunity to be at Lubbock Cooper High School. I traveled all the way from Starkville, Mississippi to be a part of the excellent Pirate nation.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it! – Proverbs 22:6

I am very excited to be joining the staff at Lubbock Cooper. I am beginning my 29th year as a teacher/coach. We have spent the last 17 years at Panhandle ISD. My wife(Kyla) is an RN. My oldest son(Kaden) will graduate from Texas Tech in December. My youngest son(Colter) will be a Jr at Lubbock Cooper. My teaching assignment will be World Geography. I will be coaching football and basketball. We look forward to getting to know everyone at LCP.

I am a Dallas native, graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Marketing. My twin boys Brayden and Bryson graduated from LCP 2020 and my daughter Breley graduated LCP 2021. I have worked for St. Clair and Massey Orthodontist for the last 14 years. I will be the Secretary for the Counseling Center.

My name is Kasey Long, and I have been teaching for 10 years. I also coached for 8 of those years at various schools in the area. I have taught many different levels of math in the last 10 years, and this year I’ll be teaching Algebra I. I have two beautiful children. My 11 year old daughter, Avery, will be in the 6th grade at Cooper Middle next year. My 7 year old son, Peyton, will be in the 2nd grade at Cooper East! My kids have been Pirates for a year already, and I’m excited to join Pirate Nation!!!

My name is Abigail Wetsel and I am from Lubbock, Texas! In my free time, I love to spend time with family and friends, watch Texas Tech sports, and snuggle with my two dogs! I also work as the All-Star Cheer Director at Ultimate Cheer Lubbock, as competitive cheerleading has always been a passion of mine! I graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. This will be my first year teaching, and I will be teaching Intro to Culinary Arts and Principles of Human Services at Lubbock-Cooper High School. I am so happy to be a Pirate and to begin this new journey!

My name is Lilah Ma. I’m from Houston, Texas. I moved to Lubbock about 4ish years ago now! I just graduated from Texas Tech with my degree in Double Bass Performance. This will be my first year teaching! And I’m so excited to be teaching orchestra at both middle schools and the high school!

I will be starting my 16th year in education, 13 as a teacher and 3 as an administrator. I am married to my beautiful wife Holly for 17 years we have twin girls who are 8 and attend Cooper Central. We also have a Bernedoodle named Wolfgang. I spent three years away from education in Real Estate. In our spare time we love to travel and spend time together at Lake LBJ in Horseshoe Bay. I will be teaching Economics for the 2021-2022 school year.

My name is Michele Elliott and I moved to Lubbock in June. My husband Matt is from Lubbock,

but I have lived in the Dallas area all of my life so this is a new adventure for me! I have 2 daughters, Macie,20 and Bailey,22, and 1 son Westin who is 23. This is my 26th year as a special education teacher. I taught 9 years in Coppell ISD and 16 years in Forney ISD as a Special Education Transition Teacher. This year I will be teaching students vocational, social and independent living in Life Skills.

My name is Brenon Rhodes. I was born in El Paso and raised in Snyder! I graduated from Snyder in 2013 and then went on to play college baseball. This will be the start of my 3rd year teaching and coaching. I married my beautiful wife, Hollie, in December of 2019. She is currently in PT school at Tech! We have two fur babies, Homer and Moses. I will be and intervention teacher at the high school, and will be coaching football, and softball!

My name is Morgan Miller and I just married my husband, Joshua, on June 11th of this year! My married last name will be Villa and hopefully I will be able to go by Mrs. Villa before the school year starts! Joshua and I have a lab mix named Paisley and a robo dwarf hamster named Olivia. I met Joshua at Lubbock Christian University where we both majored in the sciences.

This will be my second year teaching and I will be teaching Biology and IPC! My husband and I lived in Midland last year and I taught IPC at Midland Freshman. We are so thankful to be back in Lubbock and for Joshua to start medical school in August! In my free time I like to play board games, spend time with my fur babies, hang out with family, and watch movies! I am so excited to start teaching at Lubbock-Cooper High School and to be a part of the LCHS family!

Hi, my name is Haley Flores. I graduated in May from Texas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a concentration in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. I will be working in the FCS department as a Child Development and Intro to Culinary teacher. I am a first-year teacher and I'm very thankful I get to start my career at Lubbock Cooper. Fortunately for me, I completed my student teaching here and loved every second. Accepting my first job offer from Cooper was an easy YES!

My name is Yvette Heredia. I'm married to Albert Heredia. We have 2 children, Karime and Gabriel. My son Gabriel will be a freshman at Lubbock-Cooper High School this year. I am coming from LBMS. I have been teaching Spanish I and Intro to Technology for 3 years. I will be teaching Spanish II, Spanish II accelerated, Spanish IV, & V. I have been teaching for 20 years.

My name is Dustin Schulte, and I will be teaching Financial Math in the High School as well as an Assistant Coach for football and basketball this coming school year. This will be my 10th year teaching, the last 8 years being at Idalou. I am from Nazareth, TX and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Sports and Sciences at Texas Tech University.

I married my high school sweetheart Kembra in 2014. She will start her new career as an assistant professor in the Kinesiology Department at Texas Tech University this coming fall. We have two boys, Mak (4 years old) and Let (2 months old).

I am very excited to begin a new chapter in my life here at Lubbock Cooper. I cannot wait to begin the new school year and to be a part of such a great staff and program.

Lubbock-Cooper graduate with 16 years of teaching experience. This will be my 4th year with LCISD, and I will be teaching Food Science + Adulting.

My name is Kayla Mosley, I will be the head JV and assistant varsity Pom director at Cooper high school. I will also be teaching dance 1 and PE. This will be my third year teaching.

I grew up in Abilene, Texas where I startled my dance career. I have been classically trained in ballet since I was 3 years old. I was captain of my high school dance team. I attended college at Texas State University in San Marcos where I spent four amazing years as a Texas State Strutter. I have performed all over the world including Paris, London, DC, Chicago, and Philadelphia. I am so excited to be working at Lubbock-Cooper!

I have been married to Julie Rike for the past 18 years. We have three daughters. Jae will be a Junior at the high school. Riley will be a freshman. Mia will attend Lubbock Cooper Middle School as a 7th grader.

This will be my 24th year in education. I have spent the previous four years at Flower Mound High School.

I will be teaching CTE-Business as well as coaching boys’ basketball.

I'm Jenn Dayton and I will be teaching English I and III. Most recently, I taught at Irons Middle School and have been a teacher for 7 years. I have been married for 8 years to my wonderful husband, Dustin, and we have lots of dogs and one cat. I am looking forward to being a Pirate!

My name is Lauren Hodan, I’m originally from Flower Mound, Texas but moved to Lubbock a year ago. I have two kiddos who are crazy and perfect. I use to teach preschool, and I was a preschool director for about 4 years. This is my first year teaching in public school; however, I spent the last school year here at Lubbock-Cooper in attendance. This year I am excited to be teaching BIM.

I am married to Kyle Johnson, and together we have three children: Jordyn (25) who will begin her career as a PA this fall, Josh (24) who recently graduated from WTA&M and hopes to be working in Dallas soon, and Jocelyn (11) who will be starting 6th grade this year at Lubbock-Cooper Middle School. I grduated from the University of Oklahoma, and began my teaching career in Norman, OK, thirty years ago. During those thirty years, I have taught grades 6-12 in both public and private schools in Oklahoma and Texas. This year I will continue my career here at Lubbock-Cooper High School teaching freshman English.

My name is Kyle Johnson and I have been teaching/coaching/admin for 30+ years in Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Texas. I will be teaching in the math department at Lubbock Cooper High School. I am married to Michelle who will be teaching English. We have three children. Our older daughter is a Physician Assistant and our son is an Investment Advisor. Our younger daughter will join the 6th grade at Lubbock Cooper Middle School.

My name is Matt Darden, I am 30 years old and I will be entering my 4th year teaching/coaching - all at Lubbock Cooper. I spent 3 years at Laura Bush teaching and coaching and will continue to teach and coach at LCHS. I will be teaching Forensics and coaching Football and Track.

All of my family comes from an educational background. My brother, sister, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law all currently work for Lubbock Cooper. I have 3 nephews and 1 niece, all of whom are in the LCP school system. My dad currently coaches basketball at Shallowater and my mom is now retired after teaching at Shallowater for several decades.

I am looking forward to my next chapter at Lubbock Cooper both in educating our amazing students and the hunt for a state championship!

My name is Tammi Barnett. I am a mother of a 17 year old, recent graduate. We live in the country and have 2 cats and partial ownership of 22 chickens. I just finished my 7th year of teaching with all years spent at Tahoka High School teaching all different types of high school math and CTE math. I am certified from 7-12 in math, 6-12 in Business Finance, and K-12 in SPED. I also have a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. I am teaching SPED in the high school this year.

My name is Sylas Politte. No one calls me Sylas except my wife. Most people call me Po or Coach Po. I’ve been a Lubbock-Cooper Pirate since the 3rd grade. I graduated in 1999 and came back to teach/coach in 2014. I am in my 9th year in the profession, but 8th year at Lubbock-Cooper. My wife Shea and I have 3 boys. My oldest son Jacob is a 2021 graduate of LCP and currently playing football and attending school at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. Our other two boys, Ty and Kyle will be a junior and freshman at Lubbock-Cooper.

This year I will be coaching football, working with boys and girls athletics and covering ISS. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can. Please let me know how I can help you.

Website: lcisd.net
Location: 910 Woodrow Road, Lubbock, TX, USA
Phone: 806-863-7105
Facebook: facebook.com/Lubbock-CooperHighSchool
Twitter: @piratepride