Alan Shinn has been a math teacher for 50 years at Uniontown High School, getting to his math room by 6 or 7 a.m. daily to prepare for class and be available for students with math questions.

As of May 17, he is retiring.

His long tenure began with an interest in math as a youth.

As a freshman at Iola High School, Shinn was challenged by his algebra teacher, Mr. Jewell.

“He would answer every question with a question,” Shinn said. “I know that frustrated fellow students. But it made me attempt to do the problem.  I decided my freshman year I wanted to be a math teacher.”

Shinn attended Allen County Community College, then Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia, getting a degree in mathematics.

He was the first person in his family to attend college.

Shinn started his first year of teaching math at Uniontown High School in 1969, with a $19,000 contract.

He found out about the UHS math vacancy from his uncle Don Nichols, who was the math teacher at the school for seven years.

His first year of teaching was a learning curve.

“The first year, my wife and I would go to Kansas City (to visit Don Nichols) a half-dozen times to get advice and answer questions I had about teaching,” Shinn said.

“I owe a lot to those two gentlemen: my freshman teacher and my uncle,” he said.

There was another motivation.

“My Dad worked at the cement plant,” Shinn said. “I got to work there for two summers. It was hot and dirty and I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.”

During his first year of teaching at UHS, Shinn was offered a scholarship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Pittsburg State University to get his masters degree in math.

At that time in history, science and mathematics were being strongly encouraged in the U. S. education system due to the space technology challenge from the Russians.

“They (NFS) paid for the master’s degree,” Shinn said.

“I think they need to do that again,” he said. “There is a shortage of math teachers.”

In his 50 years of teaching at UHS Shinn has coached math students into more than one hundred first-place victories in competitions with from three to 30 schools. Additionally, he has coached students to 46 second-place school awards and 24 third-place overall school achievements.

“I have had more than 20 students who are now math teachers,” Shinn said.  “Two more are going to college right now to become math teachers.”

Additionally, a current UHS senior and sophomore have a desire to become math teachers, he said.

“I have always been known for giving lots of homework,” Shinn said. “I don’t think you can learn math and do one-half dozen problems per night.”

The best part of teaching for Shinn is doing the best he can to get his students to “be able to go to college (math) and get through it.”

“I hope that I have made a difference,” he said.

Mike Reith, 54, is the recently hired Uniontown Junior/High School Principal.

His official start date is August 1, 2019.

Reith has  32 years experience teaching math.  He taught four years at Indian Trail Junior High in Olathe; 28 years at McPherson High School – upper-level math such as AP Calculus, College Algebra and was math department chair at MHS for the past 15 years.

“Uniontown will be my first job as a building administrator,” Reith said.

Reith graduated from Girard High School in 1983,  earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Pittsburg State University in 1987, Master of Science Degree from Wichita State University in 2003 and will complete his Building Administration Licensure Degree from Emporia State University in May 2019.

Reith is a Southeast Kansas native.

“I  grew up on a farm 3.5 miles southwest of Hepler, then went to school K-12 in Girard,” he said.

Reith was a student who enjoyed school.

“All throughout my K-12 school experience, I enjoyed school and also enjoyed success academically,” Reith said.” I particularly excelled in math throughout high school, and really enjoyed the challenge as I progressed through the upper-level math courses.”

Reith had a math teacher that was a great influence on him.

“I had an outstanding math teacher, Gary Starr, who influenced me greatly,” he said. “I was also a three-sport athlete in high school and desired to coach at the high school level. Partnering those facts with a substantial scholarship offer from the Pitt State education department led me to the conclusion that I should pursue a math degree with an emphasis in secondary education.”

“During my teaching career, I have truly enjoyed working with students in the classroom and working with athletes in coaching. I have coached multiple sports throughout my career, but primarily basketball and track, and have been a part of some very special moments and teams.”

“While I still enjoy teaching and coaching, I began to notice an increasingly apparent need for strong leadership at the administrative level,” Reith said. “It was something that I considered earlier in my career, but the timing just wasn’t right for a variety of reasons.”

“But, three years ago, I made the decision that it was the right time and the right situation in my life to pursue a building administration degree. I will complete the program in May and receive my building administration license.”

“I am thrilled for this opportunity at Uniontown and am very appreciative to Superintendent Bret Howard and the USD 235 BOE for their support for and confidence in me. My wife and I are excited to be back in Southeast Kansas, as this gets us closer to several of our family members.”

When asked what the best part of education was for him, he replied:

“While there are many things that come to mind, the primary one is the opportunity to have a positive, life-changing impact on students, families, and communities. I believe every young person should have the hope of a successful future, and they deserve the opportunity to experience the necessary preparation for that to become a reality. Quality education is the lifeblood of a civilized society, and it is a high calling but a tremendous privilege to be a part of it.”

“I would add that I have experienced a great working relationship with my colleagues in the math department and on the girls’ basketball staff at McPherson High School,” Reith said. “It is extremely rewarding when you get the opportunity to work with like-minded educators who love what they do and are in the profession for the right reasons.”

Some of the challenges that Reith sees for future educators:

• “Public-school funding in Kansas always seems to be at the forefront of challenging issues that face education.
• “At the basic levels of daily instruction, educators are dealing with a growing number of issues students are dealing with,” resulting from a less-than-ideal home situation. I believe we need to take opportunities to work with families in this regard, to let them know we want to partner with them to help their student be as successful as possible. It is definitely a challenge to instruct students academically when they have significant issues that cause distractions.
• “The Redesign Initiative implemented by the KSDE is now something that all schools and districts in Kansas must begin to address. I believe it is imperative for schools within districts to work as a cohesive unit so that the focus and goals are consistent and effective as a student moves through the grades and schools in the district.
• “Social media presents challenges such as cyber-bullying, academic dishonesty, distractions, etc. Educators must be as proactive as possible to deal with this for the good of our students.
• “We must not lose sight of the reason education exists. We can get bogged down and pulled in many directions; sometimes when we try to do too much, we’re not good at anything. Addressing the issues and concerns that will truly help students be more successful academically, while at the same time helping them develop good character traits, are what we should be focused on.”