Connecting with students makes all the difference in the world when it comes to teaching, and Social Studies teacher and Young Democrats sponsor Kim Coil makes an avid and daily effort to engage students in her class. She has come far from starting as a student teacher 28-years-ago. Through those years she has made an impact to many students who took her World History and Modern American Culture classes.

“She’s very welcoming and very kind,”junior Blaize Peebles said. “You can tell that she comes to school everyday not because it’s her job but because she cares about making the world a better place. She’s very open to new ideas, and will wait for us to input our ideas before she puts in hers. She’s very cooperative.”

Coil is very open and receptive to the ideas of her students in both her classes and Young Democrats. She strives to help students reach their own opinions in life. Through her World History classes she makes sure to shine a light on the human aspect throughout the eras. She also makes sure to understand her students, cooperate with deadlines for work and diversifying her curriculum to the needs of her students.

“Making a connection is very important,” Coil said. “If you don’t know your kids, you don’t know how to get them to learn. I would venture to say it’s more important than anything else in the classroom.”

Since kindergarten, Coil had been dead-set on becoming a teacher. She found enjoyment in all aspects of the classroom throughout elementary, middle and high school. Coil had gone to Northeast Missouri University, now known as Truman, to get her degree and then received her masters at Lindenwood. She eventually decided to teach high schoolers because of how self sufficient they are and she wanted to hear and help discover new opinions.

“I like how she’s calm with students and how if a student say they cannot get the work done when it’s due, she works with them to figure out when they can get it done,” junior Jenna Thompson said. “She’s very understanding. She’s willing to help students learn who are willing to learn.”

Coil had the choice of working at Fort Zumwalt or Francis Howell North when she moved here. After a change in the position she found herself fortunate to gain the position after student teaching at the school along with History and Psychology teacher Sean Fowler. In her 28 years here she has made a huge impact on individual students, from attending a ceremony for a Big Brothers Big Sisters award with a student when her parents refused to go, to consistently supporting another’s business till it ended. She even learned piano from a student who was a senior at the time.

“I am always looking forward to meeting new kids, and I am always looking forward to some of my kids who come back to take my Modern American Culture class,” Coil said. “Not only is it the new kids who come along, but it is the kids who come back that make it special.”