SCHOOLS: Skip Davenport: One for the books

I struggled early on, and did not quite understand the purpose of an education until one teacher stood up and showed me. His confidence in me and his introduction to possibilities heightened my desire to succeed. He is a brilliant engineer who started off at NASA. A summer internship ended as a career on the Arco side of the North Slope. Not long after that, he took over production and ran the largest oil and gas facility in America for eighteen years. Finally, in 2001, he started volunteering at his children’s school, obtained his teaching credentials, and became the fifth and sixth grade teacher at Willow Elementary. When I walked into his classroom for the first time, Mr. Skip Davenport helped me realize that I could better myself by furthering my education.

With Mr. Davenport, I knew immediately that things were going to be different. Gone were the multicolored alphabet carpet squares, phonics notebooks, and posters that explained addition. He organized a reading nook with shelves towering far above my head, filled with chapter books thicker than any I had ever seen. This man shook our hands and greeted us with a welcoming smile. Two years later, I exited that classroom for the last time with straight A’s, honor roll, and two consecutive Presidential Academic Awards.

Before Mr. Davenport, I had not really been shown the value of an education. My parents were encouraging, but they did not push me. My mother graduated high school and took a job at a local bakery. My dad was drafted into the military for the Vietnam War. Suddenly, I had a role model. Skip Davenport is an elementary school teacher by choice, not because there were no other options. Mr. Davenport liked working with eleven and twelve-year-olds because he felt the age was such a pivotal point in life.

Fifth grade was the first year I was forced to learn history from a textbook, and this changed things. I struggled with European history especially, even ending up with a B in a mid-quarter report. Mr. Davenport offered me no breaks and no extra credit opportunities. However, he let me start up an after school study group, under his supervision. He helped me create a no pressure learning environment, and then put in hours helping a bunch of eleven-year-olds become proficient. He wasn’t just teaching me social studies; he instilled in me the value of a good education, and the study skills required to obtain it. Without Mr. Davenport’s dedication, I would not have the set of values, integrity, or worth ethic I have today.

The following summer, at my middle school orientation, I saw Skip Davenport standing before me. He told me about an opportunity that would influence my life for the next seven years. The middle school offered an advanced seventh grade math class that allowed students to get one year ahead. Mr. Davenport explained this meant students could take Advanced Placement Calculus their senior year in high school. We rearranged my schedule to fit in advanced math. Today, as a senior, I excel in AP Calc. It’s been tough work, but I would not have even had the opportunity to challenge myself had it not been for Mr. Davenport’s foresight.

He initially pointed my life in the right direction. He saw potential in me, and cared about me. From the first day of his class, Mr. Davenport treated each of his students as the blossoming young adults we were. Not only did he place respect and responsibility on our young shoulders, he backed it up with unprecedented dedication. Skip Davenport keeps up with my life and still pushes me to do my best. I needed his encouragement then, and I appreciate it now.