The December Employee of the Month is English teacher Candice Fouse. She believes she was selected because of the relationships she has created here at KHS.

“I believe I was chosen because I try my hardest to create a good relationship with my students and with the staff here at KHS,” Fouse said. “I hope that someone took notice of that and wanted to say ‘thank you’ in a way.”

She graduated from East Texas Baptist University with a degree in secondary education specializing in English and a minor in psychology. This minor in psychology has influenced her classroom in an interesting way.

“I think my biggest challenge in being a teacher, but not necessarily only tied to KHS, has been to reach and connect with students who have suffered trauma and therefore act out in certain ways that are not appropriate,” Fouse said.

A trauma-informed classroom
is important to Mrs. Fouse because she worried for her students that suffer from trauma in a number
of ways. She believes that by her being informed of her students’ hard times helps her be able to reach her students.

“Students who do not trust you, do not learn from you,” Fouse said. “So, overall, I think that putting my own selfishness aside and reaching students on a level that they need me

to be on has been my biggest, but also my most rewarding, challenge to date.”

While making an impact in her classroom, she hopes to make school something her students look forward to; especially her classroom.

“Having previous students return to my classroom, even after being
out of school for months due to a pandemic, makes my heart so happy,” Fouse said. “Any time that I hear
a current student say ‘this is my favorite class,’ whether that is due to the environment, the subject, or me specifically, I am proud to know that I have that special place in someone’s day.”

Outside of her immediate classroom, Mrs. Fouse is the co-sponsor of FCS.

“I like being involved in this activity because it is refreshing to see students who strive to be better spiritually meeting together to pray, encourage, and lead,” Fouse said. “I founded Fellowship of Christian Students at the high school that I attended so it also serves as a fun reminder of that time as well.”

Outside of school, she is a mother to two young children which is one of her biggest accomplishments.

“I would definitely say
my two babies are the biggest accomplishments in my life,” Fouse said. “I had our daughter when I was in my early 20s and our son a couple years later. They are sweet, caring,

and fun kids that love me and their dad.”

In her everyday life, a quote that guides Mrs. Fouse is one by Sherlock Holmes that says “To great minds, nothing is little.” To her, despite Holmes ‘oddball’ tendencies he knew what he was talking about.

“To me, this quote reminds me that even the little things matter,” Fouse said. “For instance, I try to
live my life in a compassionate and understanding way. To some, this might seem small, but to the one person who needs compassion in a world that is heavy on judgement, that one act might mean the world.”

She also tries to live this quote out in her education career by considering every small thing.

“Also, in the teaching profession, your day is made up of small, routine tasks that in the end, mean a lot,” Fouse said. “Everything adds up in time, so really, nothing is ‘little’.”

While Mrs. Fouse cannot guarantee where she sees herself in 10 years, she knows it will be unknown and spontaneous.

“I hope I’m still making a difference in people’s lives and being able to teach,” Fouse said. “I know for sure that I’ll be at my own kids’ middle school games and cheering them on from the sidelines.”