Articles

February Meeting Speaker

Posted by jen on 02/04/2013 12:00 am  /   Keynote Session

Speaker: Kyndra Johnson
 Topic: "Lancaster ISD - The STEM Cynosure: 
Pioneering the Transformation"

 
Kyndra Caroline Jenkins Johnson was born on June 24, 1975, in Mobile, Alabama, to the late Leon Jenkins and Carolyn Jenkins. As a child, Kyndra was actively involved in sports and extracurricular activities including piano lessons, dance, softball and gymnastics.   She joined the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering (SECME) Club, as a result of participating in an Egg Drop Experiment competition in Science class. Kyndra was also a member of the National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, Superintendent’s Junior Advisory Board, and the Girls’ Track Team.

Kyndra attended John L. LeFlore Magnet High School of Communication and Arts and followed the Engineering pathway, while continuing to study dance and gymnastics. Her passion for science and engineering intensified as she matriculated in high school, and her achievements led to her selection, as an eleventh grader, to spend two weeks at Auburn University as a student in the M.I.T.E. (Minority Introduction to Engineering) program.
 
Johnson completed her undergraduate studies at Southern University, earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Pre-Medical Chemistry. While an undergraduate, Kyndra became a member of the National Organization for Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCCHE), Beta Kappa Chi Biological Honor Society, and was the statistician for the Southern University Baseball team. She went on to teach 7th grade science at Grand Bay Middle School, in Grand Bay, Alabama. After spending two years as a middle school teacher, and after accepting a position at Justin F. Kimball High School teaching Chemistry and Physics, Johnson relocated to Dallas, Texas. Upon completion of a five year tenure at Kimball, Johnson was promoted to Secondary Science Instructional Coach for the Dallas Independent School District.  Johnson later earned her Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Her career as a science educator continued to advance. She would become a Secondary Science Specialist and K-12 Science Coordinator.

Kyndra Johnson is now the PreK-12 STEM Science Coordinator for the Lancaster Independent School District. Johnson holds memberships in the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT), National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA), Association of Chemistry Teachers in Texas (ACT2), National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA), Texas Science Education Leadership Association (TSELA), and Association for the Supervision of Curriculum Development (ASCD).  She and her husband, Royce, have two children, Jalen Royce (7) and Kynslie Blair (4). They currently reside in DeSoto, Texas.