Michelle Leflore has been with Frontier Schools since 2012. She has served in various roles in her career at Frontier Schools, 7-9 ELA teacher, Instructional Coach, and is currently the Assistant Principal of Academics at Frontier STEM. Before becoming a teacher, she worked in public relations for a school district for seven years. She had the opportunity to share some of the awesome things schools were doing for staff and students with the community. She has always loved being in education regardless of her role. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in mass media and minor in technical writing from Southwest Missouri State University. She holds a Master's degree in education and teaching certification in ELA from the University of Central Missouri. Her Education Specialist degree is in secondary administration is also obtained from the University of Central Missouri. In her spare time, she loves to watch movies, read, try new recipes, spend time with her family and play with her one-year-old son, Tristan. She loves watching football, and of course, she is a super KC Chiefs fan! She can't wait to travel again and hope to go to a beach soon!
Mrs. Nancy Jones earned a B.A. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in English Language and Literature, a MA in Curriculum and Instruction and an Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Language Arts both from UMKC. She studied at the University of Bordeaux in Pau, France, and worked on a doctorate in Ed Leadership at Kansas University. She completed coursework at Oxford University in England and earned graduate work in Tokyo, Japan, when she was selected as one of two teachers from Missouri to go on a Fulbright International Institute Program representing Japan. She currently teaches English Language Arts II, AP English Language, and AP English Literature at Frontier STEM High School and serves as English Department Chairwoman. She was selected as one of three finalists in the Charter Schools in Kansas City in Missouri for Educator of the Year, and she was Teacher of the Year for Frontier STEM in 2015-2016. Her interests include family most of all which is her favorite joy. She has a son and his wife, Grant and Lisa, (Olathe), and two grandsons, Connor (Lake of the Ozarks), and Mark (K-State). She and her husband, Finley, just celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary.
Lisa Heath graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelors in Science of Education. She has been at Frontier for 10 years. She teachers Art and Photography at STEM and is the person in charge of producing the school's yearbook with students. She has 3 beautiful kids and has a passion for crocheting. She is creative and her talent in art really focuses around drawing. She has a great sense of humor and loves to try new recipes and is a pretty good cook.
Dr. Ummuhan Malkoc Geyik teaches science at Frontier STEM High School. She teaches Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, and Astronomy. She obtained her Integrated Bs & MS in Teaching Chemistry- Bogazici University in Istanbul in 2010. She went on to receive her MS in Science Education from UT Dallas and finally in 2017 her PhD in Science Education from TCU in Ft. Worth. She is currently working on her Ed Specialist in Administration and Leadership from NWMS in Maryville. She was selected as Teacher of the Year for Frontier Schools in 2020. This was among many of her great achievements. Mrs. Geyik has 2 girls and 1 boy and loves teaching science!
Mrs. O'Connor has bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice as well as a master's degree in Education from Rockhurst University. She is currently obtaining her Education Specialist degree in K-12 Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University with the hopes of being a principal someday. She currently teaches American Government, Psychology, and Speech/Debate but has also taught World History, Human Cultural Geography, and Introduction to Communication. In her free time, she enjoys going on nature hikes with her husband, Sean, and their dog, Augustus. She also teaches Taekwondo and likes to knit, cook, listen to True Crime podcasts, read science fiction and mythology books, and create artisan soap.
Patricia Kissinger earned her B.S. degree in Mathematics (Double majored in Mathematics and Secondary Education) from Rockhurst University and my M.A. degree in Counseling in the Secondary Schools from University of Missouri in Kansas City. She taught Middle School Math, but prefers High School Math because it's more fun! She homeschooled her six children until they reached High School. She has four boys and two girls and 6 grandchildren. Her children are all successful in their chosen professions. Her greatest pride is her family who are all kind and good people. When she was 59 years old, she obtained a life-long goal of running (jogging) a full Marathon without walking any of it. That happened during her first year at Frontier STEM. She started a Photography business in 2012 and has continued it as a part-time love, but will pursue it more heavily after retiring from teaching. She loves life and the students she teaches.
Our Young Women
Janelle Carmona is a published 11 grade student. She represents some of the talented young women in our school. Enjoy her poem about bees.
Bees go buzz Buzzz, the yellow bright bees go Panic they are without their queen Without any bees, there is no honey Vicious bees all around Just stay calm; they won’t sting The honey is sweet, but the bee has a sting Winter has come, bees have gone Waiting for spring to come along
Sami Neal in grade 10 is another talented student who has written a wonderful reflection about the messages women and young girls get from society.
Self Love Self love, such an easy word to say but it's a difficult thing to express. Self love, a hard concept for girls of my generation to understand, I am no different. It's so hard to love yourself when you're surrounded by social media acclimating what the ”ideal woman” is: a fair skinned, hourglass figure, with bone straight hair, and a flat tummy. How am I supposed to love myself, after seeing this woman that might as well be from another planet, being classified as the “ideal woman”? I bet you think I am being overly dramatic, but I’m being serious. This is the world we live in, girls thinking they're not beautiful because of a heavily photoshopped “ideal woman.” I had always thought I wasn't beautiful because of how dark my skin is and the way my hair was uncontrollably nappy, and the way I just stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd of people. For the longest time, I used to act like someone I wasn’t just to please the people around me. Dressing different and always straightening my hair so I could have that “beautiful” straight hair and not the “ugly” nappy hair I have. I did this for so long that I didn't even know my real self. I thought that the character that I made up was my real self. Within this year of me turning 14, I've learned to love myself for me. I had to learn how I am beautiful no matter what the population thinks, no matter what type of girls I see on television. I had to appreciate myself because my hair isn't nappy and I am not ugly because of how dark my skin is. Personality is key and you have to learn to love yourself for who you are, or no one else will ever love you. I want all the girls to know that your hair doesn't define you, and your skin doesn't make you. Just because you don’t look like the “ideal woman” doesn't make you any less as beautiful.