Heather Mitchell is a special education teacher at Stillwater High School. She is in her third year as a teacher and says that teaching has been her dream for as far back as she can remember.
“I always knew from a young age I wanted to be in education, especially in special education,” she said. “I love seeing the growth my students make. It makes every tough day completely worth it.”
At Stillwater High School, Mitchell teaches in the Pioneer Pathfinders Academy.
“It’s a transition program for students that have a disability,” she stated. “They start when they finish their high school credits and can stay until they are 22.”
When she was a student, Heather had teachers that impacted her and helped shape her into the teacher she is today.
“Hillary Schubert was always so tough on us in the classroom,” she recalled. “But it was because she always knew our potential. So I knew when I became a teacher I wanted to instill the same value in my classroom. Another teacher was Joshua Hawkins in special education. The way he valued all students to make everyone feel like they belonged there and were included.”
Over her career, Heather has been given different pieces of advice and bits of knowledge to help her. While she appreciates all of them, she has one that stands out the most to her.
“The greatest advice I’ve been given is ‘you can’t want it for the students more than they want it for themselves. Or you’ll just be disappointed’. Sometimes when you pour yourself into a student and have such high expectations for them only to be let down. Which stings a lot and has happened to me way too many times already. I’ve learned in just a few short years how to pour myself into the student but also know when to draw the line of what they want for themselves.”
When she is not teaching, Heather enjoys spending time with her family.
“I am married to Bradey Mitchell, and we have three kids; Emmersyn, Annie Jo, and Houston,” she said.
