Brian Steele

I started my professional career in 1981 after finishing my studies at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pitt, I majored in geology/engineering and quickly headed to Houston to look for oil and gas.  I worked at Western Geophysical Corporation on their offshore seismic exploration team. While working in conjunction with Chevron, my team discovered the largest natural gas deposit off the coast of California. In 1983 I was offered a middle school teaching position at the Kinkaid School, Houston's premier private school. I taught middle school physical and life science and fell in love with teaching. I graduated in 1986 with an M Ed in science education from the University of Houston. After graduation, I left Texas and moved to the beautiful state of Michigan. I was hired by Kalamazoo Academy in 1987 to teach middle school math and science.

Math and science classes at Kalamazoo Country Day School are both challenging and exciting. Hands-on exploration and experimentation are the cornerstone of our science program. The sixth grade students study the earth sciences, including meteorology, geology, and astronomy. While in seventh grade our students focus on the life sciences. Students experiment with fungi, bacteria, and plants. They also do an in-depth discovery of the animal kingdom. This includes advanced dissections and the study of human anatomy. Our eighth grade students are immersed in physics and chemistry. They go from atomic theory to completing and balancing acid/base neutralization reactions. The eight grade students are also challenged with engineering projects. You will often see our students building pasta towers, catapults, paper airplanes, kites, and rockets.

Mathematics at Kalamazoo Country Day School compliments the science program. Students can participate in Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II classes while in the middle school. Many of the concepts presented in our Saxon texts refer directly to the mathematics that our students see in their current science class or future high school classes. Laboratory work in mathematics and special activities help to challenge the students' use of what they are learning.

During my tenure I was blessed to receive a Kalamazoo County Excellence in Education grant, eight Kalamazoo County Significant Educators awards, and five nominations to Who's Who of American Educators.

You can usually find me tucked away in my room with my students. I love coming to work every day and can't think of a better place to spend a career. Please stop by and visit our lab; we always have something fun going on.