The year began with a few new faces to the Firebird staff. One new Firebird is Ms. Karns a chemistry teacher. She is from a small town called Little York, Illinois, and has been teaching for seven years. She continues her teaching career here at PMA and hopes to gain experience from the school. 

Ms. Karns chose Phoenix instead of Lane Tech or Whitney Young, because for her, it was  important to work in an environment that was comfortable and fits her needs.

 “Phoenix caught my eye when I came here for a professional development. I was drawn to many factors: smaller school, nice chemistry labs, high ranked CPS school, and I felt a great vibe from the administration, teachers, and students when I taught my demo lesson last year. It felt meant to be!,” said Ms.Karns. 

Teachers at PMA try to give back to the students, whether its through a fun group project or an experience to change their lives. Karns wants to give back and make learning fun.

”I want to continue to make a difference in students lives educationally and emotionally. I am very excited that I get my own lab room, finally after 7 years, so that I can do more intensive labs with the PMA students and hopefully spark their interest to go into the field of science,” said Karns.

Karns did not believe the  myths that military schools are a place for troubled teens. 

 “It’s nice to teach at a school that has consistency around structure and rules within the building. I feel supported by staff and administration. I also really enjoy the students and their fun, hard-working personalities,” said Ms. Karns.