“She is a great AHS faculty member, a great math teacher, a great role model, a great mentor, and a great friend. She brings years of experience and knowledge to her classroom each day all the way at the south end of campus. Exuding her contagious smile, she is always ready and eager to teach and help her students. She is innovative, thinking of different ways to explain and strengthen her students’ knowledge of math. She is a role model for them, displaying someone who is not only hard working and tenacious in helping those around her but also someone who carries a positive attitude with her wherever she goes. She is Ms. King.

Experience is said to be one of the best guides in tackling obstacles in life, and Ms. King does just this. Being a math teacher for years has allowed her to build her vast knowledge that she uses to help her students. She is well-versed in math, even up to the AP Calculus BC level, and thus teaches her students with confidence. Her years of experience have given her knowledge of what types of problems students have trouble with and what common mistakes are, and this allows her to gear her teaching and class to suit her students’ needs. For example, she begins teaching her AP Calculus BC class to do their AP Practice Free Response Questions in a format similar to that of the AP test as early as September because she understands that formatting and clarity are critical to scoring well on the AP test. Thus, her experience allows her to ensure that her students are well prepared.

Because she knows math so well, she is able to branch out of a traditional teaching style to teach her students. When she teaches a new lesson, she incorporates examples, the concepts themselves, references to previous math concepts related to the lesson, and more to help her students truly understand what she is trying to teach and to get the bigger picture of how concepts tie together. For example, when she taught her AP Calculus BC classes antiderivatives, she referenced previous material and made connections such as that antiderivatives are just the reverse of derivatives both conceptually and mathematically. This made such a radical concept as antiderivatives easier to understand for her students. She also embodies innovation and care for her students through other ways. For example, she created a year long project for her AP Calculus BC classes that she simply refers to as “the cards.” In this project, each student creates their own set of Calculus flashcards, where each flashcard consists of the basic information, such as formulas and how to solve certain types of problems, for each new concept encountered in class. She created this project to cater to her students’ wants and needs; the cards act as an aid for when students are doing homework, give students more points in the gradebook (that can raise their grades), and act as an extremely useful study tool for class tests and for the AP test. No other calculus teacher at AHS does this project with their students, setting Ms. King apart as a innovator who truly cares for her students and addresses their needs.

Lastly, she makes math class personalized, useful, and fun for her students. She is never seen without a positive attitude when her students ask her for help, and is always eager to sit down with them to make sure they understand the math they are learning. Thus, any of her students who need help are not afraid to approach her because they know that she is happy to help them. Anyone can see her passion for math shine through as she teaches. Her eagerness continues into her class lessons as well, making them more lively and interesting than other classes where teachers may just show notes over the Document Camera.
A star is powerful and shines indefinitely. It can illuminate people’s surroundings and lead them to success. Lastly, a star is extremely bright and stands out from the night sky. To many who have or have had her as a teacher, including myself, Ms. King has been like a star. She brightens up her students’ days not only psychologically with her smile and positive attitude but also in math by helping them emerge from the darkness of confusion they may be in. Like a star, she guides them to success using her knowledge and her innovative methods. She is bright with passion for math and stands out from everyone else. She is a true star. She is Ms. King.”  —Jeremy Du, Pow Wow, Writer