BUCKEYE — At Buckeye Union High School, math class feels a little different — and that is entirely by design.
Samantha Hoard has been teaching math at Buckeye Union High School for more than a decade, and her approach starts with one core belief.
"I don't think students can truly learn math until they're comfortable in the space they're doing it," Hoard said.
That philosophy shapes everything about her classroom. Computers, calculators, and number two pencils share space with words of wisdom on the walls — and a teacher who works hard to make every student feel welcome.
"Students oftentimes come in and have such a bad feeling about math...I don't want the class to feel too heavy on the math. I want it to feel like you're welcome here," Hoard said. "I try to make my classroom as welcoming and as fun as possible especially because they don't necessarily think the content I teach isn't that much fun!"
It is an approach that might surprise anyone who knew Hoard at the start of college — including Hoard herself.
"The one thing I told my parents is that I did not want to be a teacher and I didn't want to take any more math classes!" Hoard said.
That changed when she started tutoring friends.
"I started explaining it and helping them and just got addicted to the feeling of helping someone understand something they had struggled with before," Hoard said.
More than 10 years later, that same passion keeps her in the classroom. When students struggle, Hoard said her response is straightforward.
"When I see a student struggle, it's just a quick re-direction and letting students know I am there to support them, help them through this, and we're all going to learn and grow together," Hoard said. "If there's even one kid who leaves my class and says I can do this, then I did my job."
Hoard teaches both juniors and seniors at Buckeye Union High School. For juniors, a primary goal is getting them comfortable and prepared for state testing. For seniors, she focuses on incorporating real-world math skills — because while the Pythagorean theorem has its place, Hoard said if her students do not know how to check their credit score, that is a problem they can solve together.
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