As Apex High kicks off the new school year, there are many new faces here at Laura Duncan Road. There are over twenty new teachers at Apex this year. In the math department alone, we have five teachers who are new to Apex, and Mrs. Conner is one of them. 

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: “This is my eighteenth year teaching.”

Q: Where did you teach before coming to Apex?

A: “My first three years I taught in Ohio, where I grew up; then, I moved down here, and I taught down in Lee County Schools at Southern Lee High School for the past fourteen years, so I am starting out my eighteenth year [in North Carolina].”

Q:  What classes are you teaching this year?

A: “Currently, I am teaching Math III academic and honors. Next semester, I’ll have Math I and AP Statistics. I have taught all of those classes before.”

Q: What have you taught previously?

A: “There are very few [math] classes I haven’t taught.”

Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

A: “I think I realized in high school I had a really easy time learning math, and not even just learning math but also explaining to others how to do it, even when they were struggling. I decided to give it a shot with teaching, and I didn’t change my major once in college. I went to be a math teacher, and that is what I stuck with.”

Q: Where did you go to college?

A: “I went to school in Ohio at Bowling Green State University.”

Q: Why did you decide to teach high school level math?

A: “I taught middle school math in my student teaching, and I did not like it. It was just a different feeling. My husband is actually a teacher, and he teaches middle school [at Lufkin Road Middle] and he loves it, but I realized I didn’t like the middle school setting. I could teach in the middle school, I am licensed for it, but I plan on staying with high school students.”

Q: What is your favorite thing about Apex so far?

A: “This might seem silly, but students seem very happy here. I will smile at students in the hallway, they have no idea who I am, but they smile back. I’ll say “good morning” and they will say “good morning” back and that is different from what I am used to. People seem generally happy to be here. A lot of students seem to participate a lot in sports, clubs, and academics and again that is different from what I am used to. I like the change.”

The Apex community is thrilled to welcome Mrs. Conner as well as all of our wonderful new staff and students. Apex cannot wait for another fantastic school year!