Who’s Who in Benicia: Teacher Megan Schooley

Where are you from? "I grew up in Martinez."

Where do you live now? "My husband and I now live in Benicia." 

Do you have kids? "We have a 1 1/2-year-old son and we are expecting another baby." 

What do you like about Benicia? "We love that Benicia feels so family. We love the parades. We love our safe neighborhoods where our neighbors look out for us. We love the waterfront and having my mom just minutes away."

What do you teach? "I teach sixth grade math at Benicia Middle School."

How long have you been teaching? "For seven years."

How is that possible? How old are you? "I am 31. I will thank my mother who has a baby-face."

Where did you go to school? "I graduated from Sacramento State with my teaching credential. I also attended the University of California at Santa Barbara for Communications and Linguistics."

How did you end up teaching in Benicia? "I got an interview at Henderson Elementary which got me into the district. I taught fourth grade math for one year then got laid off."

How did you get into teaching at the middle school? "One of my student’s parents was a teacher at the middle school and recruited me. I thought 'only crazy people teach middle school.' I thought I’d do it for a year, but now I am absolutely loving middle school."

What do you love about students this age? "I love the unexpected. One day they act like children who really need you. The next day they act like 25 year olds who know everything. They are completely independent. They go from one to the other within minutes sometimes."

What were you like as a student? "I was pretty focused. I liked school. I found a paper from the first grade about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and it said 'I’m going to be a teacher.' I thought that was pretty funny."

Did you always want to be a teacher? "No, in junior high I wanted to be a newscaster. The next Diane Sawyer."

How do you feel about teaching? "I love teaching. I really think that some teachers are just made. Once I started it, I realized it was my calling."

What advice to you have for students? "Don’t give up. Kids give up too easily. If they make a mistake, they think it’s the end but it’s just a learning experience. You’ve got to move on from there."

Do you do any extra-curricular activities? "I am trying to sew. That’s my new endeavor but it’s been a slow start. I do a lot of photography, I love it." 

Have you ever thought about showing your photographs? "Yes. I just need the time and money to get it together but I’ve been doing the family thing for a couple of years."

What do you do for fun? "I spend a lot of time with my family. We go to the city for nights out and go to the mountains for skiing or family weekends. We really have the best of both worlds here." 

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