It isn’t often that you are fortunate enough to find a teacher with a wealth of outside experience and expertise besides curriculum and instruction. Recently, Marco Island Academy was lucky enough to hire on Mr. Howard to build the psychology classes back and better than ever. 

Mr. Howard wasn’t always a teacher. Before teaching, Mr. Howard “worked in the mental health field for almost 20 years” focusing on adults who suffered from, “chronic mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance disorders.” In his last two years working in the mental health field, he was in charge of staff training and development at a large organization. This gave Mr. Howard the opportunity to teach and he fell in love with the profession. 

Before working at Marco Island Academy, Mr. Howard worked in the Tampa Bay area at two large public schools. Mr. Howard eventually taught at the same school his daughter attended “which was a great experience for both” of them. Mr. Howard worked for a combined 19 years as an educator and became involved with his students as the cross country and track & field coach, sponsor of the Psychology Club, and co-sponsored NHS.

Mr. Howard decided to make the move in July of 2020 after his only child, Whitney, and her husband both moved. When asked about his proudest accomplishment in life Mr. Howard said, “I am most proud of the relationship I have with my daughter.” With this in mind the decision to move and “be closer to them” was a no-brainer. 

With Mr. Howard’s arrival to the school just 2 months ago he admits that this is a very different setting from the larger schools he was accustomed to in the Tampa Bay Area. He said he would describe his, “MIA experience thus far as a ‘learning experience.’” As he continues teaching his psych and AICE psych courses he looks forward to improving his “ability to teach Cambridge courses.”

Marco Island Academy is truly lucky to have Mr. Howard as an educator. His students and colleagues recognize his passion for teaching and his ability to connect with students. Mr. Howard said that he looks forward “to teaching here for a few more years, maybe longer.”  As time progresses MIA looks forward to having Mr. Howard on our staff and continuing to benefit from his years of experience inside and outside of the classroom.