Meet the OKCPS Team

Kim Banz has been teaching at Oklahoma City Public Schools for six years and is currently the Director of Orchestras at Classen School of Advanced Studies High School at Northeast. She was honored as last year’s OKCPS District Teacher of the Year after receiving the highest scores from the panel of judges for her written application, interview and classroom lesson evaluation.

McKenzie Hodge is the instructional coach and former 5th grade science teacher at Wheeler Middle School. She has taught at Wheeler since 2018 and has been an instructor with OKCPS for the entirety of her career. Hodge is known for her passion for developing students as “whole learners” and approached challenges with excitement and tenacity. She was named the 2021 OKCPS Teacher of the Year.

Leslie Davis, who teaches first grade at Cleveland Elementary, has also taught in South Korea. Davis is known for her flexibility as a teacher, and she allows students to work in ways which help them focus. “Every child in the world deserves a chance to be anything they desire to be. Students just need a safe environment where they can be themselves and learn without judgment.” She was the 2020 OKCPS Teacher of the Year.  

Dr. Christina Kirk teaches English Language Arts and the AVID elective for 8th graders at Star Spencer Mid-High School. After illness forced her to dropout of school, she earned a GED, a bachelor’s degree and a law degree. She also serves as a municipal judge in Langston and Coyle, Oklahoma. Kirk has contributed to best-selling books and founded Prep U, which supports young women. Kirk was named the 2019 OKCPS Teacher of the Year.

With more than 26 years in the district, Chris Gardner has served as principal at John Marshall Enterprise Middle School since 2022 where he leads what has been deemed a “remarkable metamorphosis”.  His efforts contributed to a 53% reduction of chronic student absenteeism and the highest teacher attendance rate of all OKCPS middle schools. John Marshall’s 619 students also experienced significant academic growth in math and reading, ranking in the top 10 in the ReadOKC Reading Challenge.

With nearly 19 years at Oklahoma City Public Schools and three as a principal at Mark Twain Elementary, John White has helped significantly decrease chronic student absenteeism and raise staff retention by 40%. According to his staff, John goes above and beyond for his school, readily celebrating successes and supporting challenges when they arise. Mark Twain students are also leading the way in the classroom, taking home first place in the 2022 National Cal Ripken STEM Challenge and being named “Best in Show” for the 2022 Oklahoma State Fair “Flight of the Monarch” Collaborative Art Project.

Richelle Dodoo-Taylor has helped increase Pre-K through first grade ISIP Math levels and encouraged a love for reading within her school. Willow Brook Elementary was honored as the top elementary school for the ReadOKC Summer Break Reading Challenge in 2021. Dodoo-Taylor's compassionate and authentic leadership helps drive student and teacher success at Willow Brook Elementary.
 

Deserae Jackson guided the school's transition to a middle school as part of Pathway to Greatness. Under her leadership, Wheeler Middle School students showed significant growth in English Language Arts scores, with each grade level performing above the district average in core areas. She has helped shape Wheeler Middle School into an open and trusting learning environment.