Teachers at Miami High are important. They influence our education and our futures. New 9th grade English teacher Ms. Clark is a delightful educator.

Working at Miami High

   She used to teach at John Smith K-8 Center. Before coming to Miami High, Ms. Clark reached out to Dr. DeNight, the journalism teacher at Miami High, who helped her get an interview.

“I really liked it and they liked me so here I am,” she said. She considers Miami High laid back and appreciates how supported she is.

Some of her goals for her students are “to succeed and develop a love for learning and reading.”

   She likes how Miami High works. The coworkers and culture here are some of the aspects she admires in the school, plus the buildings, students, her classroom, and the parking garage. “The building here is historical and beautiful,” Ms. Clark said.

Where she came from

   John Smith K-8 is an elementary and middle school. She used to teach 8th grade English and one 7th grade class. “Some parts were not great, but I did enjoy teaching there,” she said.

   Before leaving, Ms. Clark had a chance to bid farewell to her students and coworkers. “It was a little hard saying goodbye,” she said. The 8th graders that she had weren’t that difficult to say goodbye to because they were leaving too.

   After leaving, she learned that “as a teacher you have to go with what works for you. Sometimes people ultimately know what is best for them and their students, but you’ve got to go with your gut.”

Life Before Teaching

   While Ms. Clark was a college student, she didn’t always want to become a teacher. At one point, she wanted to be a psychologist. After realizing it wasn’t for her, she got a job as a teacher’s assistant because she liked interacting with students.

   “I got my first job as an assistant in 2016,” she said. After assisting at Miami Dade schools for 7 years, she finally started working as a teacher for real in 2017. She wanted to teach English since it’s her favorite subject.

Life Outside School

   We all know what teachers do during school, but what about outside of school? Ms. Clark likes baking, cooking, and hanging out with friends and family.

For fun she likes watching Netflix and playing Animal Crossing, a video game series. Her favorite people, places, and things would be her husband, her dog Zelda, and her trip to Spain.

   Zelda is a Siberian husky. “She’s crazy but very lovable and sweet,” said Ms. Clark.

Trip To Spain

   This past summer Ms. Clark went to Spain which she described as amazing and beautiful. She loved the food and got to experience a paella cooking class.

   Her favorite part of her trip was going to Sevilla where she and her family went on a rooftop tour of a cathedral at night.

   Although the weather was her least favorite part, she will never forget that night. “Thankfully, because of Covid  all of the tours were really small. Usually it would’ve been 10-14 people, but it was only the 4 of us.”