The adventurous, hard-working September employee of the month is life skills teacher Jacquelyn Reavis. She grew up in Hallsville, TX, got her bachelor’s at East Texas Baptist University, her Master’sat Sam Houston State University, and her Doctorate from Lamar University.
“I think one of my greatest qualities is the ability to bring people together and create a cohesive team approach to whatever task or obstacle is in front of us,” Reavis said. “Communication and the understanding that we all have something to bring to the table is key to success in any endeavor.”
Her high school assistant principal, Mr. Timberlake, has had the biggest influence on her as he encouraged and helped her get on the path to where she is today.
“I had no desire to go to college or even have a career, but somehow he knew how to push my buttons,” Reavis said. “He dared me to take the district’s paraprofessional exam, which I passed with flying colors. The next year I was working for the district as a special education paraprofessional. I continued that position for five years while working on my bachelor’s degree.”
The administrative staff has had the biggest impact on Reavis here at the high school.
“They listen and problem solve with me, but most importantly, I believe they actually care about the success of the students in my classroom,” Reavis said. “I enjoy working with each of them.”
Reavis is already retired, but she came back to teach part-time working twenty hours a week. She would like to be fully retired within the next ten years.
“My husband and I enjoy traveling and visiting Renaissance festivals,” Reavis said. “We would like to visit more of the Renaissance festivals across the nation over the next ten years.”
She is not your average teacher. She is actually pretty daring. She has a black belt in Okinawan Isshin-Ryu karate, she’s ziplined an alligator pit and has ridden motorcycles. She also works at the Texas Renaissance Festival near Houston. The next one will run every weekend from Oct. 12 through Dec. 1. This year she will be Queen Mab of the Dark Fae.
“I love entertaining people and have enjoyed such characters as Yamie T. Elf (Christmas elf), Grandmama (Transylvania Royalty) and Bitter Sweet (pirate lady),” Reavis said. “It is a blast.”
Reavis’s best friend’s name is Lana Dunkerly. They have been friends for fifty years.
“We went through so much together as kids including losing our dads the same year,” Reavis said. “We learned to depend on each other because no one else really understood what we were going through.”
A guiding thought that Reavis lives by is “a goal/dream without a plan is just a wish.”
“I am very much a planner,” Reavis said. “I enjoy working with parents of students with disabilities to help them understand the power of planning for the future. Not everything happens naturally. Some things require a lot of planning and preparation.”
