As students walk into Erie High School, they are greeted with smiling faces from many amazing teachers, but one who’s notable cheerful personality stands out from the rest is Genadine Frank.
Teaching at Erie going on nine years, Frank has lived an exciting career before settling into the science classrooms. Graduating from University of Northern Colorado, she got her Bachelors in Science and majored in Athletic Training, as she was a certified athletic trainer before she got her teaching license her first year out of college. She mentions “for six years, I did teaching in science while doing athletic training at the high school,” continuing, “I’ve taught everything from Biology and AP Biology, Earth Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology, and I am also the Advisory Lead Coordinator.”
As much as Frank enjoys all of the classes she teaches, she decided to go part time after she had her son last year. Every other day
when she isn’t present at the high school, she still stays busy at home, “I either have my kids at home with me and I’m hanging out and taking care of them, or I’m just doing life things whether that’s grading, creating the advisory lesson plans, or taking care of other household chores.”
Even though she is only at the high school every other day, her love for the subject and the impact she has on her students truly shines through. Kiley Kepler , a student in Frank’s class who is an aspiring Kinesiologist, wants to get her masters in Physical Therapy, so Frank’s Anatomy and Physiology class will impact her in the long run as she progresses into higher education. Kepler notes Frank’s unique teaching style, valuing that “she is very understanding, so if you go up to her she will help you make accommodations. For me, I like to write on the physical tests, so that’s how she helps me learn the best I can.”
For many teachers, providing the students the information they need is one of the most important parts of their job, but for Frank teaching is more than that. When she first got out of college, she didn’t want to become a teacher, but she soon learned “what I really found joy in was educating kids on what’s going on with their body, in terms of their injuries or how to prevent an injury.”
Anatomy and Physiology is not a course many students are knowledgeable in before they enter the classroom, so Frank also mentions “what I truly love about teaching is having something that is really complex that kids don’t understand or know about yet, and being able to see the spark in their eyes of realizing they finally get it.”
Claire Friese, a Junior at Erie thrives in Franks class, as she explains she teaching style in Franks classroom has been very successful for her, “Mrs.Frank is very interactive with her students and she always makes sure we individually all know what’s going on, but she is just very intelligent, she is very smart, and she is also just a very well spoken person.”
Frank makes it her goal to provide valuable life lessons so her students can thrive in the real world. She makes it clear that she hopes students will “see the positive out of every situation”, and “invest in themselves” to find the best person they are able to be.
Going in and out of her classroom, students express their love for Frank and her classes. As the school year comes to an end, Kepler looks forward to her senior year, but reassures her love for Frank as she explains “I am just hoping my teachers in my sports med classes next year are half as nice and half of what Mrs.Frank is as a teacher.”
