Deven Speed is passionate about swimming and education at Duncan Middle School.
Speed joined the faculty at DMS this year, as a seventh-grade science teacher and the swim coach. She faced some challenges in her first semester, but she feels that she has overcome those issues to become a stronger teacher.
Her road to Duncan Middle School wasn’t a direct one. She attended college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Afterwards, she moved to Miami, Florida. Before teaching, she was a personal training and gave private swim lessons.
She moved to Duncan to be closer to family.
From there, she took the job teaching at DMS, where fellow science teacher Stacy Pena serves as her teaching partner. Her swimming co-coach was Abby Leonard.
Speed said she would choose her career a million times over. If she wasn’t teaching, she’d want to coach a college swim team.
However, she said she really likes teaching science. Swimming uses sciences, she said.
Speed said she likes the students in her classes, but noted that teaching has its pros and cons.
That being said, the students have a mutual appreciation for her.
Mason Craig, seventh-grader, said he likes Speed’s class and finds it interesting. Craig said students in her class learn a lot about science, but they’re also able to have fun.
He said Speed is nice and entertaining. He referred to Speed as “The GOAT.”
For Fernando Garcia Diaz, Speed’s class is fun. Although he does have friends in the class, he said Speed is a nice teacher, which makes the class.
