Panther Press

By Synaa Womack

Ackiem Parnell is a fifteen-year-old who is in the tenth grade at Linden-McKinley. He enjoys playing games and listening to music. His favorite color is black. When it comes to music, he prefers rap. Basketball is his favorite sport.

His favorite thing to eat is a burger. Ackiem has a small family. It's just him and his little sister. He doesn't have a job right now, but he cares for his sibling. The quarter has affected him terribly, but he's going to try harder and get through it.

A long term goal he has is to go to college. An interesting story Ackiem has that he didn't mind telling is that he nearly died five times.

Khaleel Abdur-Razzaque is fifteen years old and in the ninth grade at Linden-Mckinley STEM Academy. He has a very large family of nineteen siblings! Abdur-Razzaque is the youngest of his eight older brothers, and he is in the middle of his eleven sisters. He likes to play basketball, workout, and watch romance, action, and comedy movies. Abdur-Razzaque likes to listen to old school R&B and soul music. His favorite color is green, and he loves alfredo pasta, almost as much as he loves basketball.

Online school has affected Abdur-Razzaque in a very positive way by making him more responsible and independent. When asked what is unique about him, Razzaque said, “When I was a baby, I fell off the table and hit my head. Now I have a bald spot.”

Abdur-Razzaque has set some short and long term goals for himself. His short-term goals are to get his license and to get a job. His long term goals are to get a house and to get married.

By Khaleel Abdur-Razzaque

17-year-old Cassidy Brown is an 11th grader at LMSA. In her free time, she likes to sleep and watch Netflix. Also, Brown’s favorite color is blue, and she likes to listen to old school music. As far as sports go, Brown loves track.

She has a large family: four brothers, one sister, and her grandpa lives with them. Brown does not have a job right now. However, two short-term goals for her are to get a job and workout more. Also, a long term goal for her is to graduate.

Online school hasn’t affected her because she has been doing it for most of her life. She attended TRECA Digital Academy before LMSA, and she also attended ECOT in the past.

By Deqorious Armstrong

Dawn Heideman is a new eighth-grade math and Be the One teacher at Linden-McKinley. Heideman saw some familiar faces when she joined the LMSA staff. She knew Principal Duane Bland from Akron when he was a football star. She also has been working with teacher Carla Hegyi for a few years through the Be the One program at Linden (modeled after Heideman’s program at Walnut Ridge). Her program’s goal is to help students who have experienced trauma survive and thrive, and it was featured in her 2019 TEDx talk, “Be the One.”

Heideman has taught at East, Independence, and Walnut Ridge. She has also taught at other schools in Athens, Ohio, Stockton, California, and Mt. Pleasant Michigan. When asked about her family, Heideman said, “I am a proud mom of two amazing kids--Hayley (17) and Griffin (13).”

She played volleyball, softball, and basketball in high school, and she played college basketball. When asked about her favorite subjects, she said, “I liked math because I got it, and I liked speech cause because I’m long-winded.”

Heideman attended Ohio University for her undergrad degree in math education. For graduate school, she attended Central Michigan and Dayton for a degree in educational administration.

When asked how she ended up at LMSA, she said, “I heard it was a supportive staff, and it has been true. I’m so excited to be here and expand the Be the One program by partnering with the awesome Carla Hegyi and bringing many more resources to the Panthers!” Her father was a teacher, as are both of her brothers, so it’s no surprise that she ended up in the field of education too.

By Austin Tudor

Dr. Micheal McCrory is a new assistant principal at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy.

McCrory's parents were both teachers, so he has been around schools his entire life. When McCrory was in high school, his favorite subject was history, and he participated in football, basketball, and track. In his free time, he enjoys movies, reading, and working out. McCrory was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He clarified, "The city is named after the Kansas River, not the state. We were there first!"

McCrory earned his bachelor's degree at Central Methodist University, and he earned his master's degree at the University of Missouri. Finally, he went to Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri for his doctorate.

He moved to Ohio in 2014 because his son was being treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They moved to be closer to the hospital. When asked about other places he has lived, McCrory said he has also lived in Phoenix, Arizona.

One day McCrory saw a shirt at Macy's that said, "Things would be different if I were in charge." He said," It crystallized for me that if I wanted things to be different, I had to put myself in a position to make a change." After two years of teaching middle and high school, McCrory spent the next 14 years as an administrator.

McCrory said that he wanted to be part of a team where he could positively impact students' lives. He has worked at many Columbus City Schools: Hamilton STEM Elementary, Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls Middle School, and Eakin Elementary.

McCrory said, "I really enjoy what I do for a living. It's allowed me the opportunity to see students become successful adults and pursue whatever goals they've set for themselves."

McCrory has enjoyed his brief time at LMSA so far, and he is looking forward to the day that we are all in the building."

Alex While is in his fourth year as a math teacher. He started his teaching career at LMSA because he wanted to stay in Columbus.

While had many jobs before he started teaching. He was a cook at KFC, a teaching assistant at Ohio State, he set up water stations for marathon runners, and he was a valet for a summer camp.

In his free time, While builds computers. He currently has seven PCs/laptops in his apartment, and the only thing stopping him from getting more is how expensive it is. Since he has a dog and two cats, he needs to save some money to take care of them.

When he was in high school, While was in cross country, track, marching band, and Boy Scouts. His favorite subjects were math and chemistry. He went to Austintown-Fitch High School and attended The Ohio State University for undergrad and graduate school. Eventually, he realized he loved talking about and sharing math, so he decided to go the education route. He planned to keep studying math until someone offered him a job.

He wanted to work at LMSA to stay in the Columbus area. While said, “It has been an unforgettable experience. There’s always something to surprise you and keep you on your toes.”

By Robert Wilson

Rekia Hill is a school nurse at Linden-McKinley. Before working at LMSA, she worked at two elementary schools and was an emergency department nurse. Starting her first year at Linden online has been a challenge. Hill said it has been a "struggle trying to navigate through Google, Zoom, and Webex and get things aligned." She is looking forward to meeting everyone in person.

Hill loves live music. She attended her first concert at four-years-old, and since then she has been to over 200! In high school, she was in choir. She graduated from The Ohio State University and Wright State, and she also attended Alabama State University, an HBCU.

Hill wanted to work at LMSA to get nursing experience in a high school setting. As a kid, she knew she wanted to be a teacher or a nurse, and nursing seemed like a better fit. Hill said she wants to send the biggest thank you to every teacher. She said, "Hopefully, after this pandemic and home-schooling, the general public will have a greater appreciation for teachers and the work and dedication that goes into teaching other people's children."

By Korion Butts

Dr. Collin Richarson is in his third year at LMSA and loves his job. Richardson joined Linden in August of 2017 after he moved to Columbus, Ohio. He teaches vocal music and senior capstone.

Richardson only taught college for four years before he wanted a new challenge. Richardson said, “I dove into the K-12 world and came to LMSA.” He has learned different ways to contribute to students and their academics, and he enjoys being a part of the Panther family.

Richardson earned his bachelor of arts degree in music at Morehouse College. He then went on to earn a master’s degree at Emory University, and a doctor of musical arts at the University of Cincinnati, in his hometown. Richardson’s first job was at Central State University in 2009 as an instructor of music. He also worked at Hampton University.

Richardson is also a National Certified Teacher of Music and a member of the American Guild of Organists.

In his free time, Richardson loves watching movies, is a huge basketball fan, and loves food - especially Donatos Pizza. When he was in high school, he was in student council, wrestling, and music. Music and English were his favorite subjects in school.

By Cassidy Brown

Brenna Kautz is a 7th grade English Language Arts teacher at Linden-McKinley STEM High School. After she was placed here, she said, “I started to fall in love with all of the crazy 7th graders and the energizing spirit.”

Before she knew it, Kautz had been here for ten years. She did not have any other significant jobs before. Kautz said, “This was my first ‘big girl’ job.” Kautz has two kids and is married to her childhood sweetheart.

She loves to work out and even works out seven days a week! A few years ago, she led a fitness boot camp after school for teachers. In high school, Kautz played soccer, and she has always loved reading and English.