My name is Kelly Stephenson. I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but I am NOT a Steelers fan! I graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Criminology/Pre-Law with a Minor in Psychology. I continued my educational journey by attending The University of Phoenix and earning my Master's Degree in Elementary Education in 2008. I completed over 100 observational hours within K-6 classrooms, in addition to completing a 12-week experience of teaching a Kindergarden class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I have taught for a total of 9 years in North Carolina. In 2014, I began my teaching journey in 5th Grade Science and ELA in Vance County. After 2 years, I moved to Lexington City Schools and have been here ever since! I started at Southwest Elementary School as a Second grade teacher for my first year, then I moved up to teach 5th grade. My 5th graders that school year made such a difference to me that I surprised them all when I moved to LMS with them to teach 6th grade. Currently, this will be my 5th year working in 6th grade and I absolutely love our Social Studies Curriculum: Ancient Civilizations! I will also be teaching ELA this year and looking forward to utilizing my classroom rotating centers again!
In my spare time, I enjoy photography, tennis, DIY house projects, working on my outdoor pond and watching scary movies. Over the summer, I got into painting for fun and am looking forward to incorporating this new-found passion into the classroom. I have also coached the Women's (2017 - 2021) and Men's (2018 - Present) High School Tennis Teams. My favorite season is summer. My favorite flowers are a variety of irises because they remind me of my late grandmother (who practically raised me when I was much younger). I love pizza, steak and salmon...Unfortunately, I am highly allergic to most chocolate and dairy. I have a daughter, Sophia (9 years old on September 3rd), who is in 4th Grade at Charles England, and a Beagle named Shadow*** who turned 11 years old on September 13th...in Dog Years, this would be equal to a 77 year-old human!
***Shadow passed away on November 22, 2022.