Andy Evans and Jan Swart had worked together before.

He was the principal and she taught science and coached at Kingfisher Middle School from 2005-07.

Their paths crossed again this year.

Swart is in her second year as a teacher at Kingfi sher High School.

Evans re-joined the district, first as interim superintendent last October and has since been hired as the full-time leader of the district.

“When we worked together at the middle school, she did an outstanding job of preparing and instructing her students,” Evans said. “I knew what kind of teacher Mrs. Swart is when I came back to the district.”

What he wasn’t fully aware of when he first returned was the workload Swart willingly took on.

She teaches biology to sophomores and then anatomy and physiology, STEM, forensics and AP Biology to juniors and seniors.

It’s a full day.

Literally. “She willingly went without a prep period to ensure our students were getting the course work they needed,” Evans said.

That’s just one of the reasons it was with great pride Evans introduced Swart on Wednesday as the Kingfisher Public Schools Districtwide Teacher of the Year.

He made the announcement in front of KHS students and staff during a ceremony in the commons.

Swart was one of five teachers previously voted Teacher of the Year in their respective buildings. Joining her were Jarren Graham at Gilmour Elementary; Kaytlyn Woods at Heritage Elementary; Katy Buckner at the upper elementary; and Timmy Winans at the junior high.

Staff then voted from among them for the district honor.

••• Jan Schilde graduated from Dover High School in 1990.

It was during her formative years - both at home and at school - that she was exposed to two of the biggest influences on her professional career.

One is her mother, longtime county educator Joan Schilde.

Part of the influence started at home.

“She and my dad (Jim) always had high expectations for all of us,” Swart said. “They never allowed us to slack off or only give partial effort.”

But she also noticed the kind of educator her mother was…and is.

“She influenced me by always thinking about the whole child,” Swart said. “Basic needs have to be met before they can learn.”

Another major influence was Valerie Shamburg, who taught Swart in science at Dover during junior high and high school.

After a number of years at Dover, Shamburg spent several years as a science teacher in Hennessey.

Shamburg, said Swart, has “taught” her student well beyond her school years.

“She has been a mentor since I started teaching and is always willing to give ideas or materials,” Swart said.

After graduating from Dover, Swart earned an associate’s degree in science from Clarendon Junior College in 1992 and then a bachelor’s degree in natural science with minors in biology and education from Oklahoma Panhandle State University in 1995.

Swart has taken a long, winding road back to her home county in her 30 years in education.

She taught numerous science courses and coached a number of sports during stops in Memphis (Texas), Laverne and Canyon (Texas).

It was at Canyon where she crossed paths with another strong influence on her career.

Elaine Gwinn taught physics while Swart was there.

“She was a master of incorporating science concepts and lab work which made it relative and interesting to the students and her classroom management was amazing,” Swart said.

From there, Swart had stops in Fairview, KMS, Jones, Binger-Oney, Arnett, Ringwood, Garber and Lomega.

Swart earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Southern Nazarene University in 2015.

She put that to use beginning in 2021-22 when she was an assistant high school principal at Union City and then 2022-23 when she was both elementary and high school principal - and a high school science teacher - at Aline-Cleo.

But last year saw Swart return to Kingfisher County… and KPS.

On top of her current workload, Swart is also an adjunct professor at SNU where she teaches classroom management courses for alternative certified teachers as well as educational portfolio for master’s of education leadership courses.

She’s done that since 2017.

Swart and her husband, Aaron, have three grown children: Cole and his wife Alison; Macy; Mady and her husband Korbin as well as granddaughter Logan and another grandchild due in May.

Professionally, Swart has strived to find ways to reach her students.

“My goal is for every student to have experiences in class that challenge them while holding them to a high standard,” she said. “Also to learn to problem solve and to help them be prepared for whatever is next in life.”

Evanssaidhe’switnessed Swart doing just that firsthand multiple times since he came back in October.

“My first week I was walking through the gym and there’s Mrs. Swart’s class dropping a ball over the railing to measure acceleration and speed,” Evans said. “If you go into the high school every now and then, you will see her students wearing VR headsets in the commons doing labs and other activities.

“I’ve been in her classes a few times to visit with her and she always has her students engaged in some kind of learning or learning activity.”

Making sure students have what they need to learn.

Willing to accept new ideas from longtime mentors.

Finding ways to make science concepts interesting to students.

And, a willingness to go above and beyond.

Those are all aspects, Evans said, that make Swart a deserving recipient of this year’s honor.

“Mrs. Swart works extremely hard to place her students in the best possible position to be successful,” he said.