Meet 3rd Grade ELA teacher, Chyanne Tidwell who is now in her first year of teaching. Tidwell, a 2018 Checotah graduate, has worked for CPS for almost five years and has been the VISTA worker at Marshall for three years and the McKinney-Vento consultant for the past year.

“Being involved in the community has always had an impact on me,” Tidwell said. “Some of my most recent involvement opportuni- ties include feeding Thanksgiving dinner for the county this past year and creating the Christmas project. This project helped over 50 students, who were not on the Angel Tree program, receive a great Christmas. With the help of the community and Checotah Perk, we were able to have a Christmas party for these students to receive their gifts.

“However, my grandma influenced me to become a teacher. I always heard how great of a teacher she was, so I decided to follow in her footsteps. I have also worked with many great educators, some of them being my past teachers. Seeing the impact they made on me and other students is a great motivation to become a teacher too.

“Teaching isn’t just a career; it’s a passion and a calling. I never thought I would become a teacher until I experienced the love of students firsthand. I love building relationships with students and helping them see and achieve their goals. When you see the success of your students, you also see your own success.

This is my first year as a teacher, although I have been around kids my entire life.”

Tidwell, is the daughter of Robby and Angie Tidwell and granddaughter of Bobby and Billie Tidwell. She also has one brother, Chance Tidwell, who is married to Cara. They have two children, Michael and Kayeli.

In her spare time Tidwell enjoys spending time with her friends and family, traveling, owning Trendy Travels, a travel agency, and going on mission trips.