Welcome to Thunder Vista P-8!
My name is Stephen Sutphin and this is my 13th year teaching. I began my career as a long-term substitute teacher at Rocky Top Middle School. From there, I spent nine years teaching science at Otho E. Stuart Middle School in School District 27J. I then had the opportunity to make a move back to Adams 12 and begin my journey with the Thunder Vista community. This will be my third year teaching middle school science here at Thunder Vista.
Growing up in the beautiful state of Florida, the activities that I enjoy participating in outside of school are very outdoor oriented. I spend the majority of my free time with my wife, my six year old son, and my three year old daughter. As a family, our favorite activities include swimming, playing tennis, fishing, and when the opportunity arises, scuba diving.
As far as my education goes, I received my BS in Biology from Regis University, my teaching endorsement from Metro State University, and a MS in Reading and Literacy from Capella University.
My teaching philosophy stems from the idea that every student has the ability to learn at a high level and that all students should have their thinking pushed. We will be working under a system of continuous improvement. In any classroom there are a variety of abilities and levels; we will be pushing all students to continue to improve regardless of their current starting point. To run my classroom in this way, my focuses are providing student ownership, academic choice, ability to critically think, and inspiration to take their learning to the next level.
I am looking forward to a great year ahead of us. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.