By Derrick Smith

There are times in some people’s lives that one moment, one interaction, or one thing that you think is not that important can change the direction of your life or give you direction in your life. That is what happened with Lora Frost when she was a college student.

“Throughout college, my summer job was to haul around a huge yellow wooden castle that was a puppet stage to all the parks in my community and give puppet shows,” she said. “The interactions I had with young people of all ages made me realize that not only did I want to spend my life working with young people but that I especially wanted to work with young people with hidden disabilities who might need some extra support or intervention to meet their life goals.”

Frost teaches Study Skills to tenth through twelfth graders at Stillwater High School where she is in her seventh year of teaching. Before that, she taught for twenty-seven years at Stillwater Junior High, two years at Sangre Ridge Elementary, one year at Highland Park, and two years in New Holstein, Wisconsin.

While the interactions with students helped guide her into the teaching profession, Frost says that some of her high school teachers were big influencers in her decision as well. 

“My high school journalism teacher and English teacher both made a huge impact on me,” she said. “They made a clear investment in their students and exuded energy and passion for their craft.”

Over the years of teaching, Frost says that she has received many bits of advice, but there is one piece that has stuck with her and she still uses it to this day.

“It is imperative to always meet a student where they are emotionally and academically and empower them to go as far as they can. Developing a culture of healthy relationships and mutual respect is key to an effective classroom.”

Laura and her husband, Dale, have two sons that graduated from Stillwater and one grandson that currently is a student in the district. When she is not teaching, she says that she enjoys gardening, reading, fishing, and traveling around Oklahoma with her husband and grandson.