New history and special education teacher Maxine Cheney shares not only a classroom with social science teacher Daniel Skapinsky but also a passion for supporting the new generation of learners.
After attending Willamette University, Cheney decided to pursue her love for education. Cheney’s appreciation for SCHS grew from her father, math teacher Bill Cheney. She also admired that the teachers at SCHS were passionate about caring for their students.
“I liked the community that Santa Clara had established, and I wanted to be part of that,” Cheney said.
In her high school years, Cheney found herself in a difficult transition between childhood and the young adult world. Attending a college preparatory school, she was confronted daily with approaching adult responsibilities. She felt the transitional phase was especially impactful in her life, which helps her relate to students who are experiencing similar emotions during this time.
Throughout her difficult period, Cheney received a lot of support from her parents. She felt having conversations about her future prepared her for life beyond highschool. Reflecting on her point of view as a teenager, Cheney values being able to encourage her students to face similar discussions.
“High school is challenging because you’re reaching a weird transition where you’re about to go into the adult world,” Cheney said. “Getting to be like, ‘This is going to be weird. Let’s talk about it’ and also, ‘Let’s prepare you for that’ because adults are gonna start treating you differently.”
Growing up with a learning disability, Cheney had to learn special skills and tactics to navigate her school environment. Her student experience was another aspect that drove her to become a teacher and help special education students. Mostly during the pandemic, Cheney saw students with similar experiences as her who struggled to learn.
When she is not teaching, Cheney stays active and participates in various physical activities. Her favorites include obstacle courses, powerlifting, hiking, biking and rucking. Cheney was inspired to pursue her hobbies by watching her father partake in them.
“I watched my dad do (obstacle course races) for ten years, and then one day he was like, ‘You wanna do one?’ and I was like, ‘Sure!’,” Cheney said.
Cheney has been powerlifting for almost three years and participated in 15 Spartan and Tough Mudder obstacle course races in 2022, which she has been doing for six years. Her most difficult venture was a 13-mile race course in San Jose.
“It was a race where they took you up the side of the mountains. We were climbing on all fours, and it was really hard… and I did it with 20 pounds in my backpack,” Cheney said.
Cheney hopes to channel this strength, not only physically, but emotionally, in her work at SCHS. She strives to prepare her students for their futures by giving them advice early on.
“I think the one piece of advice I would give is to start budgeting for little things,” Cheney said. “We don’t think about it, but then once you’re an adult with rent, bills, savings and cars, all these little things start to add up. I wish I had done more of that in high school.”