Meet Courtnee Stagner, Kavod’s Middle School Language and Literature teacher, the 8th grade Film and Media Studies teacher and Kavod’s very own Te’atron (Middle School Theatre) Director. Ms. Stagner joined Kavod’s tuition-free TK-8 school in the Fall of 2020, and has been bringing her passions into the school ever since!
Tell us a bit about yourself
Who I am in the classroom is very similar to who I am outside of the classroom. I love to read and work part-time at the Coronado Public Library. I venture to the movies at least once a week and always get excited for Oscars season! When I’m not working or traveling over the summer I love to spend time with family and friends, as well as my cat, Billy. I try to bring him to campus a few times a year and the explorers love having a class pet for the day.
What do you love most about your role at Kavod?
Everything! It is typical at a small school to wear a lot of different hats, but never did I imagine I’d get to bring all of my passions into the classroom. I love reading and I get to teach Language and Literature; I love movies and I get to teach Film and Media; I love theatre and I get to direct the school musical; and I love education and work alongside the best team I’ve ever known, implementing a program I strongly believe in. I love all of the teachers in middle school and I think together we have grown a strong, supportive, and tight-knit community that I’m thankful to be a part of. As for our explorers: they’re just as wonderful – I’m proud of my role in helping them to grow in their OLAM values, passions, and love of learning.
Who or what inspired you to become and educator?
I have had a number of teachers throughout my education, from kindergarten to college, who shaped me into a lifelong learner with a strong belief in public education. My first grade teacher taught me to love school, my sixth grade core teacher instilled a love for the Humanities, my senior year English and History teachers inspired me to become an educator, and my College Acting Professor showed me how.
How does Kavod’s mission and vision align with your personal and professional values?
Kavod’s focus on language learning, respect, and, in the middle school, the International Baccalaureate program are what most align with my values as an educator. I love languages and it is so cool to hear how many are spoken on our campus. Having only studied world languages in college and adulthood, I really wish I had the opportunity to learn the same language throughout my time in K-8, as Kavod offers with Hebrew. As a non-Hebrew speaker on campus it is really fun to learn new words and practice everyday sayings with explorers or staff.
Additionally, I think the IB program offers a unique path to understanding a variety of subjects while preparing our students to be critical thinkers, creative collaborators, and respectful communicators.
Share a favorite memory of your work at Kavod
Seeing the 8th graders off at their promotion ceremony each year has been a recurring favorite memory at Kavod! Having been here since the second year of the middle school program, I have been fortunate enough to teach every student promoted from 8th grade, and have even had the opportunity to teach some explorers all three years of their middle school experience! I have loved watching them grow as learners and return to our campus years later to visit.
How has your passion for Film Studies been brought to Kavod?
For the International Baccalaureate Art credit, explorers have two years of Music with Mr. Lancaster and in 8th grade take Film and Media Studies. It’s a year-long class that includes units on the history of movie musicals, adaptations of books, roles on a set, and documentary film-making. Explorers film, edit, and collaborate with one another to make music videos, adapt Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and design costumes, sound, and even make-up. I’ve always loved movies and getting to share that with explorers each year makes it one of my favorite classes to teach. All around my classroom are posters from the movies we watch and I especially love seeing their reactions and appreciation for films like Singin’ in The Rain, Titanic, and Spirited Away.
Has your past work as a Drama Teacher enriched your classroom lessons?
As long as I’ve been a teacher I’ve been a Drama teacher. In my first four years as an educator I was a High School Theatre Teacher and Director. When I was hired at Kavod, I taught 6th and 7th grade Drama, however – having started in 2020, we were still a hybrid school and I taught over Zoom.
Over the next couple of years, I taught a different script in all three grades of Language and Literature (The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Macbeth, respectively), but it wasn’t until last year that Kavod Te’atron was built. Since then Mr. Lancaster and I have directed Matilda Jr. and this year: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Kavod Te’atron is both an enrichment class and an after school club that prepares a full-length production in the first half of the school year with interested 6th-8th graders. Theatre is an amazing outlet and art form and getting to direct students and see them express themselves through acting, singing, and dancing outside of the classroom is such a joy.
Want to see learning come to life at our tuition-free charter school? Schedule a private tour and see Kavod in action. We are now enrolling for the 2025-26 school year. Join us!
About Kavod
Founded in 2013, Kavod is a tuition-free public charter school in San Diego committed to growing the next generation of bilingual, globally aware leaders who will make the world a more respectful place. We offer modern Hebrew and Spanish to diverse TK-8th graders alongside a rigorous curriculum, the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, and enriching electives. As a non-religious, dual language elementary and middle school, we are consistently ranked as a top 5% charter school in California and across the country. Kavod means respect – we believe respect makes a world of difference. Enroll with Kavod today!
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