By Nizhoni Richards

Heather Hoeye is a well known teacher at Central High School. Even if you aren’t familiar with the name, you would recognize her petite figure and loud and caring personality. However, being one of the smallest doesn’t stop her from being one of Central’s greatest.

Mrs. Hoeye began her career in a daycare center, like most young adults she didn’t really thought about it. But when she attended Oklahoma State and took a teaching course, she started to fall in love with the teaching career. After she graduated from Oklahoma State, she moved to South Dakota and attended Black Hills State. Later she attended South Dakota State University where she achieved her master’s degree in special education.

Mrs. Hoeye said teaching is very stressful. “Sometimes when I have way too much on my plate, I just want to drop everything and cry. But on most occasions, I go out for a nice run.” Despite having her bad days, seeing her students succeed is what keeps her going. “Every kid is different. So their success is going to be different than others. Whether they go to college or not, I still want them to succeed.”

Home is where the classroom is? Right? That’s how I felt when I entered Mrs. Hoeye’s room. “I like to keep my classroom where students can feel like they’re at home all the time.” And they do. Mrs. Hoeye has a mini couch, a mini refrigerator and a mini coffee maker where students can make their own cup of coffee!

When I asked Mrs. Hoeye about her goals for the future she said she is going to be a school counselor for special education. However when I also asked her about a second career choice, her answer was shocking! “If I wasn’t a teacher, I would be a trauma nurse, working with blood and seeing interesting things.”

After knowing Mrs. Hoeye for three years now, I could really tell how much of a great teacher she is. I think that the key of being a great teacher is being a skilled leader. Mrs. Hoeye focuses on shared decision-making and teamwork. She conveys this sense of leadership to students by providing opportunities for each of them to assume leadership roles. Mrs. Hoeye is a prime example of that, as well as working hard and staying dedicated will lead to great success. She is a sweet, down to earth person who has excellent goals and a fantastic teaching career ahead of her.