Kimberlie Starnes
Red Lick Middle School
Kimberlie Starnes grew up living in Houston and San Antonio, but at 18, her family moved to New Boston, Texas. A few years later, she married David Starnes, and the couple continued to reside in New Boston, raising their three sons: Jonathan, Josiah, and Jared. Kimberlie did not set out to be a teacher as it was not her first career choice. She was destined to become a nurse; however, a job opportunity changed her projected career path. “I took a job at the Happy Days Child Care Center in New Boston while I was enrolled in college. There, I met my husband, who would also become a teacher, and discovered my interest in education. My boss, Mrs. Ruth Eggenburger, and supervisor, Mrs. Susan Hanna, made quite an impression on me with their work ethic and dedication to the children of our community. I found joy in creating lessons and activities for the youngest learners and watching my students grow,” Kimberlie says. Soon after, Kimberlie found herself changing her major as she pursued her degree in education both from Texarkana College and Texas A&M-Texarkana (TAMU-T).
During Kimberlie’s senior year at TAMU-T, she was chosen to work as an intern in the Professional Development School at Westlawn Elementary. This particular school was a collaboration project between TAMU-T and Texarkana ISD. “Education graduates were given the opportunity to spend their student teaching months working as an actual teacher under a mentor in their own classroom. There I was greatly encouraged and influenced by amazing educators such as Dr. Juanita Hargus and Dr. Trisha Ray. Once I graduated, I went on to help develop and manage a Christian school in New Boston, taught third grade for New Boston ISD, and then went back to Texarkana ISD, where I taught second, third, and fourth grade at Waggoner Creek Elementary.” Kimberlie is currently teaching reading and writing to sixth graders at Red Lick Middle School. “My family and I have fallen in love with Red Lick. My husband moved to Red Lick ISD to coach and teach middle school history, and I soon followed. I have found a home and an amazing community of leaders, teachers, and families here. Our youngest son is currently a seventh grader at the middle school.” Kimberlie adds.
Reaching the kids who have been reluctant learners and watching them become successful students has been Kimberlie’s greatest achievement in her career.
She believes students are more receptive to learning once educators have built a safe, inviting relationship with the student. She states, “When I am willing to listen and adjust to them, they begin to open up and learn. It becomes easier for them to progress and start moving forward. It takes two people for learning to occur. I have learned when the teacher and the student work together, they will both be successful.” Her proudest moments are often connected to those students she has seen deal with the most significant behavioral and learning challenges and come out on top. This type of student success is the most rewarding aspect of her job. “I track my kids’ growth in several areas as they progress through the school year. Their reactions to seeing what they have accomplished over the year are priceless. I encourage my students to monitor their own growth and to set and meet daily and yearly goals. I encourage them to focus on competing against themselves rather than being concerned about peers’ accomplishments or what society considers a success,” Kimberlie says. This student-growth attitude has led Kimberlie to be recognized as Teacher of the Year for Waggoner Creek in 2020 and Red Lick Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2024.
Education does have its fair share of challenges, one of those being technology. People not involved in education may be surprised to learn how detrimental some technologies and social apps are to our children. Every day, Kimberlie sees kids struggle with focus and behavior. She says, “I find myself needing to make major adjustments to my class and lecture time due to students’ inability to stay on a task for an extended period of time. They are amazingly adept at manipulating technology and are talented in new and unique ways. Today’s students have learned how to utilize digital tools in ways we could have never begun to imagine just a few years ago. Unfortunately, they struggle with working through interactions with peers, paying attention to things that do not interest them, and going unentertained for long periods.” As educators look toward the future, Kimberlie believes they will need to refocus on executive functioning skills such as interacting with others in face-to-face settings and problem-solving. “We must also adapt how we assess what students have learned. We will need new assessment methods rather than relying on the traditional pen-and-paper exam. I have seen students clearly demonstrate their understanding of a topic by creating amazing digital responses to questions and problems. Their work, however, would never pass today’s standardized state assessments,” Kimberlie says.
Adding to the list of challenges, Kimberlie states that the most challenging aspect of teaching usually stems from outside forces, such as societal issues, families, and peers. “The challenges and pressures from outside the school building can have unforeseen consequences inside the classroom. They can sometimes create circumstances that can feel insurmountable for both students and teachers. Kids deal with unrealistic expectations set by social media and entertainment. Teachers deal with their own unique challenges with impractical agendas handed down by state leaders and agencies,” Kimberlie says.
What keeps Kimberlie going each day? Her personal faith in Jesus Christ keeps her focused and gives her strength. She enjoys sharing her faith with students through the Fellowship of Christian Students and student-led Bible studies. Recognizing students first as children of God helps Kimberlie reprioritize and move forward. Her strongest motivator for continuing in education despite its challenges is that she sees herself as a learner. “I enjoy getting into the lessons and activities right alongside my students. I am not afraid to tell the kids, ‘Hey, I don’t know the answer or how to do that, but let’s see if we can figure it out!’ I still enjoy learning, reading, and growing as a student myself!” Kimberlie says. As an educator, one of the greatest lessons she has learned is that everyone is a student and has new things to learn each day. “Children are born with natural curiosity. My job as a teacher is to help kids find that desire and channel it into new learning.”
Fun Facts:
If I could go back to high school I would pay much less attention to what everyone else was doing and be more adventurous in my learning!
The best advice I received as a new teacher was to choose your battles. Figure out what is most important and focus on that.
My favorite school subjects were reading and literature because I’ve always been a book nerd!
My dream vacation would be an RV road trip with my family across the country to see as many national parks as possible.
My students may not know that I like to play RPG video and tabletop games with my family.