Skyline R-II School Has Three New Staff Members

  The beginning of the school year is an exciting time with new learning opportunities in store for students and teachers alike. The Skyline R-II School has three new teachers – Jessica Harley, Alicia Borders and Candace Mayberry who greeted students on the first day of classes August 23.
     Jessica Harley, 4th grade teacher, has been a resident of Douglas County her whole life, living in the same one-mile area. Jessica graduated from Ava High school as Class President in 2000.  She has been with her husband, Jonathan for 16 years, happily married for 12.  Jessica and Jonathan have three great children who keep them on their toes; Jentry 11 years old, Jax 8 years old and Jennings (JP) who is 3. As a family they love spending time at the lake camping, swimming and fishing. 
  Mrs. Harley also enjoys reading, crafts of various forms and the occasional Amazon purchase. 
  She started her career in education in 2005 and decided to stay home after the birth of her daughter in 2010. She worked as a substitute off and on and for the local Head Start as well.  She dispatched for Douglas County for 7 years before accepting a virtual classroom position last Fall with the state Launch program teaching 35 kindergartners.  
  Mrs. Harley quickly realized just how much she missed teaching and the actual classroom.  Jessica enjoyed the closeness of a virtual classroom environment but wanted to find that feeling within a brick and mortar school system and was excited to accept the position with Skyline, as she knew it was the ideal fit for her. With such great supportive staff and fellow teachers, the transition has been wonderful!    
     On August 24th, Mrs. Harley submitted her Amazon wish list to Signal Food Stores as part of a promotional give away to help teachers clear their Amazon classroom wish list.  Jessica was fortunate enough to get two classroom sets; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for her fourth grade classroom, as well as a Fiction read aloud, Balloons Over Broadway for Thanksgiving.  She plans on using all materials for multi-subject learning opportunities.
Mrs. Harley looks forward to this opportunity in the fourth grade and can’t wait to set goals for herself and her students. She is anxious to watch them grow and surpass them.  She wants to develop fearless, fast learners who appreciate working hard and achieving everything they are presented with!    
  Alicia Borders, Title reading aid, has been married for 15 years and is a mama to three children, ages 6, 12, and 15.  She had been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years but when her youngest went to school she felt the pull to go back to work.  She had subbed a lot last year and she knew she wanted to work in a school so when the Title position opened up at Skyline where her kids go to school, she jumped on it! 
  Mrs. Borders is absolutely loving it – her position, the kids and staff that she works with, being at school with her kids and having the same schedule as they do.  She is looking forward to getting to know the students better and connecting with them.  Helping to show them what they are capable of, how important it is for them to shine their light, encourage them, and loving them to success.     
  Candace Mayberry is the new third-grade teacher at Skyline Elementary. She is a current resident of Ozark County, where she has lived for 18 years. She has two very outgoing boys who love to play sports and team rope. Ms. Mayberry enjoys spending time with her family and friends and being outdoors. 
  She was a special education and Title I classroom aide for six years, she became a certified teacher and taught first and second grade for two years. She then became a children’s service worker for the Missouri Children’s Division for five years.
  Candace is excited to be working in the Skyline School District. All the staff have made her feel welcome and have been supportive as she learns the routines and structures of the district, she said.
  Ms. Mayberry has many fun learning activities planned for her students this year. The small class sizes allow her to give students more one-on-one attention as well as do small group activities. She is looking forward to being back in the classroom to make learning fun and inspire the minds of the students.