Michele Chappelear is a well-known teacher, and after 10 years at Coronado and 20 years teaching, she has decided to retire. She has enjoyed teaching classes such as chemistry, physics and geology (with her favorite being Chemistry!). Mrs. Chappelear also sponsored the student council from 2015 to 2020.

Her favorite part of working at Coronado was the camaraderie she shared with her colleagues, specifically, she gave credit to the influence of William Richardson, a science teacher and department chair when she started at Coronado.

While at Coronado, Mrs Chappelear has made a plethora of memories with staff and students. When asked her favorite memory she stated, “I always looked forward to blowing up pumpkins each Halloween. I also really loved Homecoming events and Prom. It was really important to me that I help kids create lasting memories through these events.” In her time teaching at Coronado some of her favorite memories were making memories for her students.

Having spent a decade at Coronado, Mrs. Chappelear has seen a lot while teaching, but the biggest change has been tied to advances in personal technology: “The nuisance of cell phones has taken over the classroom, making it very difficult to teach.” It stands to reason that cell phone usage has only increased since the start of her teaching career with the advent of the iPhone on June 29th, 2007.

In her career, she has learned much through experience, and one of those ideas may even be a bit controversial: “Homework isn’t necessary.” She added that in an effort to foster positive relationships, “no matter how late a student is when he/she comes to class, I try to say ‘welcome’ or ‘I’m glad you’re here.’”

To start her retirement off with a bang, Mrs. Chappelear intends to visit Italy with her family this summer and continue to work in education, likely tutoring and substituting for classes. We will miss her next year!