ABOUT MRS. PAYTON
I wasn't born in Kansas, though my heritage and the fact I've lived here for almost 40 years and I am a fourth generation Kansas educator, I can attest that there is truly "no place like home". I attended Labette Community College and Kansas State University, eventually graduating from Emporia State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. I earned my Master's of Education degree from Friends University, and am currently working on my TESOL graduate certificate through the University of Kansas.
I have 30 years of teaching experience. Since 2000, I have been a proud member of the LHS English department. In addition to teaching the gamut of ELA courses (ENG 100, ENG 200, PreAP/Honors, ENG 400, and AP Literature), I have served as the ELA Department Chairperson, represented our staff on the District and Building Leadership Teams and Professional Development Plan committee, performed as the LEO Club adviser for a decade, and served on the Grade 10 ELA Kansas Assessment Review team. I hold a TEDx license and was the organizer and curator for our two TEDxYouth@Louisburg events in 2016 and 2017.
My wonderful husband, John, is retired from the U. S. Air Force and from serving 8 years on our USD 416 School Board. We have four children, three of whom graduated from our Louisburg school district, and are so proud of their endeavors: daughter Olivia, a 2023 graduate, now attends Johnson County Community College pursuing nursing; daughter Kira, a 2020 graduate, attends UMKC, majoring in Business with a minor in Finance and Entrepreneurship and is also a certified Pilates instructor; son Evan, class of 2017, now works in the commercial audio-visual system industry; and son Ethan, a graduate of University of Kansas, is a case manager in the Kansas City area; we also gained a daughter-in-law last fall.
I enjoy traveling (we recently traveled to Barcelona, Rome, and Paros, Greece), cooking, gardening, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Fun Fact: I've recited Antony's funeral speech in the ruins of the Roman forum. :)