Each May, when the final school bell rings and kids go home for summer break, teachers around Liberty Hill ISD have an opportunity to become the student and learn new tips and tricks, collaborate with fellow teachers, and experience new adventures that they can bring back to the classroom in August. Let’s chat with three teachers from Liberty Hill Middle School (LHMS) who spent a portion of their summer break with the classroom in mind.

Melanie Crockett- Seventh-grade Texas History teacher

With a last name shared with a founding father of Texas, Ms. Crockett was destined to be a Texas History teacher! “I am obsessed with Texas,” said Crockett, “my passion is my subject matter.” So this summer, Ms. Crockett became the student, attending professional development at the University of North Texas, her alma mater, and then she went on a road trip to each of the Texas Revolution sites. Her favorite part of teaching – fun facts! She loves to share random fun facts with her students to help make history current. For example, Interstate 35 follows the Chisolm Trail, down to the east-west split just south of the Metroplex. Crockett said that she feels like that is what her students will remember. She likes tying a historical event or person to the present day to help them see the significance of Texas history.

According to Crockett, “I feel like that's what they remember. So I really like bringing that in, because then it's not just about this dead guy who did this thing. It's the reason why you see some of the things you see.” She loves to attend professional development in the summer because after a few weeks of hibernating, she’s bored! “I feel like I'm a lifetime learner. I love my subject so much that I want to keep learning about it,” said Crockett.

Ms. Crockett has taught Texas history for six years, the last four of which in Liberty Hill ISD. She came to the Austin-area to be near her family but she stays in Liberty Hill because of the people, including her principal Monica Miller, who said, “Mrs. Crockett’s heart for Texas runs deep and she truly embodies her role as a Texas History teacher using things she has learned from her experiences. She takes ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ passion to a new level in her classes! Students love being in her room and learning all about where they can go for day trips across our great state!”

Bobbi Chock- Seventh-grade Math teacher

This summer, Mrs. Chock took two groups of students on trips with EFT tours. EFT is a student travel group that focuses on experiential learning and education obtained through travel. Pairing teachers with student groups allows them to not only chaperone, but learn alongside their students, build stronger relationships through the adventures of travel together, and to foster a lifelong love of learning.

Her first trip included students from LHMS and they visited Washington D.C. and New York City. A student on the trip commented that they had always wanted to go to Julliard in New York City, but was overwhelmed at living there and commented after the trip, that it was something she could now consider having visited the city. When asked if she plans to do it again, Chock said, “I want to take as many students as possible, because they really learn so much, and you're experiencing it with them.”

Her second trip included previous LHMS students, now in high school, and they visited London, Paris and Rome. While in Paris, the group learned that the average home for a family is under 700 square feet and during the pandemic they were only able to leave their home a few hours per day. Mrs. Chock saw that, “for kids to be exposed to this, it opens a whole new world. It teaches them empathy. It's just a whole other way of life.” 

According to Miller, “Mrs. Chock’s heart for students shines bright everyday. She is a ball of energy, loves her students and campus BIG, and works so very hard for all students to not only learn, but LOVE the process of learning and growing academically, and as a young adult.” 

Mrs. Chock has been teaching for 28 years and this is her fourth year at LHMS. She said her favorite thing about Liberty Hill ISD is the people. “I've been under a lot of admin and there is nobody like Monica Miller. I don't know what else to say. She's something else. She's just amazing and she loves her people.”

Audra Cozart- Sixth-grade Math teacher

For the second summer in a row, LHMS Math teacher Audra Cozart has worked in a cohort of fellow teachers as part of the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Instructional Material Review and Approval (IMRA) process. The process, initiated from state law changes, aims to improve curriculum quality across Texas schools. Teachers from around the state review potential curriculum, evaluating it on its alignment to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), suitability, and student focus. “We're on teams of five. I have four people who review, and then I was the team lead and the writer. So each week, my team goes through and reviews one of the units. We come together, we discuss what we’ve viewed, we give it a score, and then I take what we found and I put it into a report. If our curriculum gets accepted by the State Board of Education and goes to a school district for adoption, they have this report to review, “explained Cozart. 

TEA is phasing this new review process into all subject areas. Math and English Language Arts (ELA)  are currently available with science and social studies to follow. Cozart likes being part of the IMRA process because she believes it makes her a better teacher. “It showed me different ways that you might approach a specific topic,” she said. “It also let me see that we have a pretty strong curriculum. It gives me another lens to look through, because I know for it to have been accepted by the state board, it had to have been through this review process.”

Mrs. Cozart has been teaching at LHMS (and the former Liberty Hill Junior High) for seven years. Although she has a master’s degree in curriculum, she is happiest in the classroom with her students. "I like it when something clicks, and they get excited about it, or they just want to tell me how their weekend was,” she said. She stays in Liberty Hill because of the co-workers she has built connections with and she knows she can count on. LHMS Principal Monica Miller bragged that, “Audra is a perfectionist by nature and constantly working to become a master at her craft of teaching math. She has a wealth of knowledge, experience and academic expertise with pedagogy, especially in math education. LHMS and LHISD is lucky to have her pouring into our students everyday! She loves calling herself an educator, as she comes from a long line of educators, and wants to continue to make this profession a respected one.”